Amended Gas Safety Regulations - Application to Canister Appliances

The Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations of 2010 introduced a new regime for gas appliances that supplemented the existing ‘on-line’ supplier declaration scheme by the addition of requirements for certification, and the labelling of appliances with a flame symbol having commonality with the symbol proposed for adoption in Australia.

This regime was introduced with a transition period ending in 2012.

The Amendments to the Regulations (2011) (which have effect from 10 November 2011) expand the recognised certification systems to include North American (CSA and UL) schemes and extend the transition period until July 2013.

The Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations 2010, as amended by the Amendment Regulations of 2011, have four fundamental requirements:

• That all appliances be certified (or covered by a small quantity endorsement regime) under a recognised certification regime.
• That all appliances (except those under a small quantity endorsement) be the subject of a supplier declaration made on the ‘on-line’ database by the NZ importer or manufacturer.
• That all appliances (except burners less than 1 kW and those under the endorsement regime) be labelled with the Gas safety symbol (or if marking is not practical, the packaging or instructions (or warranty) bear the symbol).
• That all appliances be marked with specified information.

In addition, on-sellers (including retailers) are required to ensure that the appliances are labelled. Installers are required to verify that the appliances are listed in the declaration database.

Four certification regimes are recognised through a schedule (Schedule 2A) that lists the schemes, and also the relevant appliance Standards. For most appliances some conditions are applied to reflect NZ’s Gases and in particular NZ’s LPG. In the case of canister supplied appliances no conditions are applied. The recognised regimes are:

• Certification under the EU Gas Burning Appliances Directive to BS/EN Standards.
• Certification by one of the three Australian Gas Appliance certification bodies (AGA, SAI Global, and IAPMO) to AS and AS/NZS Standards
• Certification for North America by CSA or UL to ANSI Standards
• Certification by bodies accredited to NZS/AS 3645.

The requirements relating to gas Wobbe rating have been removed and replaced by the direct recognition of the gas types applicable for each scheme.

It is intended that the Regulations be reviewed at least once before they become mandatory in 2013. This review is proposed to verify that the listed Standards are practicable for each of the recognised regimes, and explore the addition of other regimes (including Asian schemes) where they would be suitable to deliver compliance and trade outcomes.

While it is expected that the commonly imported appliances have been catered for, the key task now for the camping industry is to verify that that the recognised certification regimes and Standards are appropriate, and that the marking and labelling requirements are practicable.

Details on the Regulations and amendments can be obtained from the Energy Safety website-  www.energysafety.govt.nz