No householder’s ink on the gas meter

Whose pipe: either side of the meter

The gas meter is the dividing fitting, and the distributors say so in their own sentences. Australian Gas Networks, as the distributor, is responsible for work on the gas meter and the gas distribution network, including the street mains and the pipework connecting them to the meter, and it repairs any leak on the meter or that network at its own cost; the owner is responsible for the gas installation, and a leak between the meter and the appliances is a licensed gas fitter’s repair. Tas Gas Networks draws the same line: leaks on the meter and the pipework the distributor is responsible for are the distributor’s to fix, and leaks between the meter and the property, and inside it, appliance issues included, are the owner’s to have fixed by a licensed gas fitter.

On the house side, the law starts at the gas supply point. Victoria’s gasfitting work is defined as the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of any pipe, appliance, flue, fitting, apparatus, control or other item involved with the supply or use of gas that is fitted downstream of the gas supply point. WA adds a right of entry on the owner’s side: the gas supplier may inspect a fixed installation to check that it complies, and if a supplier requests that inspection the property owner is obligated to permit access.

Which gasfitter, and what to check

Gas appliances come in two classes, and the licence follows the class. Victoria’s two classes are Type A and Type B appliances: Type A covers domestic and light commercial appliances such as cookers, space heaters, central heaters, water heaters, catering equipment and leisure appliances, so servicing or repairing a gas heater is a licensed Type A gasfitter’s work. A licence card can be read at the door: Energy Safe Victoria says to ask to check the licence card and the registered classes listed on the back, and that routine servicing and carbon monoxide checks call for the gas servicing Type A accreditation on it.

Everywhere else, the check is against a register. NSW: check a gasfitter’s licence details online or by calling 13 27 00. Queensland: ask to see the person’s gas work licence before any gas work, and search the state’s register of gas work licence and authority holders on the RSHQ portal. WA: the law requires that all gasfitting work is carried out by a person who holds a licence from Building and Energy. SA: use a licensed gas fitter for any gas work required. Tasmania: a licensed gas fitter. The ACT: a licensed gas fitter for maintenance and servicing. The NT: you must be licensed to undertake gasfitting work, and NT WorkSafe’s page sets out the classes, from the general gasfitter who works on approved Type A appliances to the Type B class and the autogas class.

One check is worth making by name. Queensland’s page says to ask to see a person’s gas work licence before they do any gas work at all, whatever the job looks like.

How often: the intervals, state by state

The servicing interval is the number most worth keeping, and the states that print one are not in agreement. Victoria: all gas heating appliances, and especially open-flued gas heaters, should be serviced and tested by an appropriately trained and licensed gasfitter at least once every two years. The Victorian Department of Health puts the same interval on all types of gas heaters, including central heating units, space heaters, wall units and gas log fires, by a gasfitter who has completed training on detecting and correcting risks of carbon monoxide spillage, with the advice to ask before booking whether the gasfitter has the right equipment and that training. Energy Safe Victoria’s own guide adds the same two-year interval as a recommendation for all gas water heaters, space heaters and central heaters.

WA puts a second age threshold on it: a heater should be serviced as often as the manufacturer’s instructions say, or at least every two years by a licensed gas fitter, and annually if the appliance is more than 10 years old. The ACT’s utility asks for the shorter cycle out of hand: arrange for a qualified gas appliance service technician or gas fitter to service the appliance each year, and retain a written report of the work undertaken. Queensland’s page puts it without a number: gas appliances should be periodically checked and serviced by a licensed gasfitter to keep them operating safely and efficiently. NSW’s recommends servicing by a licensed gasfitter in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

One set of rules puts a date on it whether anyone asks or not. In Victoria, rental providers who enter into an agreement after 29 March 2021 must have gas safety checks conducted every 2 years by a licensed or registered gasfitter; for agreements entered before that date the checks are not legislated but are strongly encouraged, with records kept and a copy given to the renter; if no check has been done in the last 2 years when a renter moves in, one is to be completed as soon as possible. The check itself covers the installation and any leaks: any appliance, fixture or fitting that uses or supplies gas must be checked to ensure it was installed correctly and is not leaking.

Carbon monoxide, which the nose cannot check

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous, colourless and odourless gas, and it interferes with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. The Victorian Department of Health sets out why a heater spills it: open flue gas heaters are particularly sensitive to negative pressure in the room environment, and in certain circumstances exhaust fans can draw carbon monoxide back into the room, so open flue heaters are not designed to operate in better-sealed, newer houses that may have less ventilation. Energy Safe Victoria’s advice for using a heater follows from that: do not use kitchen rangehoods or bathroom exhaust fans at the same time as the heater, because it can create a negative pressure environment and draw carbon monoxide into living spaces. WA’s Building and Energy puts it in the same words of warning, adding that the first warning signs are often headaches, nausea and fatigue.

Some heaters are riskier than others. Energy Safe Victoria says flueless heaters can be extremely dangerous, because carbon monoxide and other deadly gases spill directly into the home and mix with the air breathed there, and that open-flued heaters can spill carbon monoxide more easily than other types, making them more dangerous. Queensland’s gas safety page covers the outdoor version: portable outdoor heaters can produce large amounts of toxic carbon monoxide gas if used incorrectly or not operating properly, and indoor use can result in carbon monoxide poisoning, so they are never to be used indoors or in semi-enclosed areas.

An alarm is a back-up, not a certificate. Energy Safe Victoria says a carbon monoxide alarm will help but should never be a substitute for regular servicing, and that the effectiveness of an alarm is limited to the location where it is installed, as carbon monoxide levels elsewhere in the room may vary. The same guide records that no Australian standard covers the design, manufacture, installation or servicing of domestic carbon monoxide alarms, and that Energy Safe Australia suggests choosing one certified to the European standard EN50291 or the US standard UL2034. Its overview adds that such alarms should not be considered a substitute for proper installation and regular maintenance of gas appliances, every two years.

A smell of gas: the distributor’s page, and its number

No smell-of-gas step is written in this guide’s own words. What is right for one state’s network is not right for another’s, and each distributor prints its own page and its own number. Each row below is that page, and the number its own source prints.

Two rules are worth stating only as the sources state them. The Victorian page says to report gas leaks or other gas emergencies by using the emergency number on the gas bill, and that the three Victorian gas distributors each cover their own geographic region of the state. WA’s Building and Energy asks for incidents to be reported to the relevant gas supplier and to the Director of Energy Safety, and the WA Government prints its freecall line for electrical or gas incidents.

Two reasons this is the strictest tap

The first is in the law’s own language. Gas and electricity are inherently dangerous, and Victoria’s safety regulator says it is illegal and potentially fatal for unlicensed and unqualified people to undertake any gasfitting work. The second is money: WA’s Building and Energy says unlicensed gas work is a risk to the person and to public safety and may affect future insurance claims, and South Australia’s consumer agency counts unlicensed and illegal work among the things that may impact insurance claims.

Between the two, the drawing on this page has no ink of a householder’s on it for a reason. The five other taps all have at least one part a householder may touch in some state; the distributors’ pages put work on the gas meter with the distributor, so the whole fitting is drawn in the authority’s slate and the licensed copper, and nothing else.