Page 18 - Climate Control News May 2020

In Focus
National licensing debate back on the agenda
THE AUSTRALIAN HVACR industry’s transi- tion to low-GWP refrigerants is being hampered by the current licensing regime, according to a position paper released by the Australian Insti- tute of Refrigeration, Air conditioning and Heat- ing (AIRAH).
Led by its Refrigeration Special Technical Group, AIRAH released a position statement last month on HVACR licensing in Australia, and is seeking input from industry stakeholders.
The position statement states the industry is hampered by “the lack of a comprehensive li- censing and enforcement scheme that covers the skills required of mechanics involved in the in- stallation, operation and maintenance of RAC systems.”
AIRAH CEO, Tony Gleeson, said that although there are well-established and successful licens- ing regimes in place – most notably the national ARCtick licence scheme – there is room for im- provement.
“There are undoubtedly opportunities to en- hance licensing for HVACR technicians,” Glee- son said.
“We support a nationally harmonised ap- proach to licensing that covers all refriger- ants, based on minimum standards of compe- tency and sector of operation. It should also include a separate contractor or business li- cence if required.
“And to be effective, the scheme needs to be
supported by ongoing activities to ensure com- pliance, including education, monitoring and enforcement of regulations.”
Gleeson said in order to make a compelling case for regulators and government, AIRAH need good, clear data.
“So a big part of this project is getting the key industry stakeholders involved and working to- gether to build the case for change,” he said.
AIRAH support a licensing scheme that cov- ers all refrigerants, plus Certificate III should be the minimum qualification for professionals in- stalling, commissioning, maintaining and de- commissioning HVACR systems, the paper said.
“In day-to-day terms, improved licensing will produce better outcomes for HVACR systems while also improving safety for technicians, homeowners and building occupants alike,” Gleeson said.
Responding to issues raised in the position pa- per, the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) CEO, Glenn Evans, said that while environmen- tal protection is the overall objective of the ARC- Tick based scheme, it also has secondary bene- fits such as consumer protection and increased safety for technicians.
“It is worthwhile remembering that before the ARCTick scheme anybody could do RAC work throughout most of Australia,” Evans said.
“Our view is that any licence scheme needs to be a single national model, not State by State
which can create industry confusion, something we are seeing in Queensland at the moment where to achieve a RAC Licence you do not need to do any RAC units of competency.”
Evans said there seems to be a misconception that there is little enforcement under ARCTick.
“There is substantial enforcement through the ARCTick scheme – with 70 people losing their licence last financial year due to ongoing non- compliance,” he said.
“That follows on similar numbers in previous years. Losing your licence can mean not being able to purchase or handle refrigerant, a clear benefit of the ARCTick scheme over an occupa- tional scheme.”
Evans said another misconception is that those with Restricted Splits (Cert II) licences were working beyond the scope of their licence.
He said the vast majority of investigations have shown that this is unproven.
“A point worth noting is that COAG has al- ready looked into nationalising state licence schemes through the National Occupational Li- censing System (NOLS) program,” Evans said.
“After a lengthy consultation and review pro- cess they found the national ARCTick scheme to be the most effective and efficient of all the licence schemes, and the only one to deliver a net benefit to industry. As a result the pro- posed nationalising of state licence schemes did not go ahead.” ✺
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
Industry need a national licensing regime as state by state models are failing technicians.
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