A gas compliance certificate is required when you install a device which uses gas for:
- Heat
- Light
- Power
- Refrigeration; or
- As a Propellant
When you buy a property which uses gas you should insist on being given a copy of the certificate. At the moment it is rare for this to happen.
This hasn’t been causing too many problems because the gas supplier will have a copy in their records. A company can’t supply gas without the certificate so you should always be able to obtain a copy from your existing supplier.
If you change gas suppliers then you will need to give a copy of the certificate to the new supplier. This could be a problem if you buy a property and you don’t know who has supplied the gas previously.
It is relatively easy to obtain a new certificate if the current set up complies with the Australian Standards.
Unfortunately the standards have been changing over time and systems that are over 10 years old won’t comply. A common problem we see is that the pipe size is too small.
The other difficultly is that from late last year the gas suppliers are required to do a compliance check every time there is a change of ownership. Most suppliers won’t charge to do the check. Of course if it is an old system it may not pass the check and will have to be upgraded. Regulation 92 Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004.
We recommend sellers do a check before they list the property and fix any problems or if not then the buyer make it subject to a new compliance certificate being issued prior to settlement.