General Information
Types of Gas Appliances
Gas appliances to be used in a customer’s premises must be approved by the Director of Energy Safety (DES). Approved appliances will by clearly marked, stamped or labelled. Consumer appliances will generally fall into two categories, Type A or Type B. Appliances are categorised as follows:
Type A Appliances
Type A appliances are typically cooking appliances, room heaters and hot water units. These appliances cannot be legally installed in a consumer’s premises unless they are approved and identified as approved.
The CAB’s that currently provide conformity assessment services for Type A appliances are as follows; AGA, Globalmark, IAPMO and SAI Global. Compliant appliances carry a label to confirm the assessment unique to that CAB and a common label showing a gas flame symbol will be printed or attached alongside the CAB label. The current approved labels are:
If appliances do not have AGA, SAI Global, Global-Mark or IAPMO certification, then they must be individually approved by a Type A gas appliance inspector and have an approval badge attached. A sample badge is shown below.
Type B Appliances
Type B appliances are typically industrial equipment such as gas fired boilers, furnaces, kilns and power generating equipment which requires extensive construction, assembly, commissioning and testing on site.
The installation of a Type B appliance in a consumer’s gas installation must meet a two-step process:
The design and construction of Type B appliances are required to conform to the requirements in AS 3814:2015 – Industrial and Commercial gas-fired appliances.
Installation Requirements, Applicable Codes and Standards
All consumers’ gas installations are required to meet prescribed requirements set out in the Gas Standards (Gas fitting and Consumer Gas Installations) Regulations 1999 (GSR 1999).
These regulations provide for the standard of performance for gasfitting work, licensing of gas fitters and a list of the technical standards and codes a gas installation is required to meet.
Installations with only Type A appliances are referred to as Class G gas installations, and these are required to conform to Australian Standard, AS/NZS 5601.1:2013 – Gas Installations. This standard sets out the requirements for consumer piping design and pipe material, flueing design and flue clearances, over-pressure protection, safety shut off systems, ventilation and appliance installations which are associated with the use of fuel gases such as natural gas and LP gas.
Installations containing Type B appliances are referred to by industry as Class 1 gas installations, and these are also required to conform to the relevant requirements in AS/NZS 5601.1:2013 – Gas Installations as well as the following Australian Standards:
Guidelines on gas fitting work are available from the Energy Safety website: www.commerce.wa.gov.au/energysafety
Licencing of Gas Fitters
A licensing system is in place to ensure only competent works carry out gas installing work. Under this scheme, only licensed people can undertake gas installation work.
Only those who meet competency standards are licensed. A disciplinary process is in place to ensure that only those competent remain as licensed persons. The competency standards cover work practices, equipment and installation.
In Western Australia, the Gas Standards Act 1972 and the Gas Standards (Gasfitting and Consumer Gas Installations) Regulations 1999 provide that gasfitting work on a consumer’s gas installation may only be carried out by a person with the appropriate gas fitter’s licence.
What Type of Gasfitting Licences are Issued?
More detailed information can be obtained by contacting Energy Safety.
What Should I do if I need to Install a Gas Pipe or Appliance
Gas Appliance Conversion
If the design of an approved gas appliance is modified during or following manufacture, the changes may affect the safety of the appliance. Therefore, modifying an appliance will require the appliance to be re-approved and badged by a Type A gas appliance inspector.
Conversion of the appliance to operate on a different gas is considered to be a modification. If a manufacturer’s approved conversion kit is not used, the appliance must be approved and re-badged after the conversion is carried out.
When a manufacturer’s approved conversion kit is used, a Type A gas appliance inspector’s approval or recertification (badging) of the appliance is not required as the appliance, at the time of the original certification, was approved for both natural gas and a specific LP Gas type.
The Application for Certification of a Type A Gas Appliance form can be obtained either from a Type A gas appliance inspector or from Energy Safety’s website. The owner of the appliance is responsible for negotiating a fee and paying the gas appliance inspector for the cost of certifying the appliance.