Page 43 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2021

Safety in HVACR
NATIONAL FRAMEWORK
Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, last year announced plans to introduce a national framework for occupational licensing.
Currently, registration and licensing requirements vary significantly across jurisdictions, with some scopes of work entirely unregulated, while others are subject to strict requirements that reflect their level of specialisation.
The Air Conditioning Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA) CEO Scott Williams said previous attempts to introduce national occupational licensing failed because of an inclination towards the recognition of lower
standards of competency. “Even in jurisdictions where trade disciplines—
for example, mechanical
services plumbing and
refrigerated air
conditioning – share
similar scopes of work, the Josh Frydenberg qualification and experience requirements are different,” he said.
“As a result, the specific competencies of trade practitioners operating in different states and territories can vary significantly, despite the fact that the scope of work appears to be the same.”
Australian Treasurer,
AIRAH CEO, Tony Gleeson.
Some states, such as New South Wales, require all work to be done by Certifi- cate III-qualified RAC technicians. All other states and the ARC-hosted scheme allow Certificate II-qualified trades to per- form some tasks by way of a restricted licence com-
mensurate with competency.
Safety was a big concern with fears untrained
technicians are working with new-generation re- frigerants without the correct training.
There are currently around 100,000 licence holders in Australia. Licences are mandatory for purchasing, handling and working on systems that use synthetic (CFC/HCFC/HFC) gases.
No Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) li- cense is required, however, to work with natural refrigerants such as carbon dioxide, ammonia or hydrocarbons, or the new generation of synthet- ic refrigerants called hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs).
“Today, about 90 per cent of refrigerants in use in Australia are covered by the ARC licences. But as we transition to alternative refrigerants
through the HFC phase-down, this will de- crease,” according to the Position Statement.
“By 2030, only around 70 per cent of the refrigerant bank will be covered by ARC licences. It is AIRAH’s position that any scheme should cover all refriger- ants, to limit both direct and indirect emissions.”
“We acknowledge that this is a complex issue
– HVACR licensing has been debated in Austral- ia for decades,” Gleeson said.
Almost a quarter of all electricity generated in Australia is used to power HVACR systems, and around 80 per cent of this electricity is generated us- ing fossil fuels. Through its energy use, HVACR con- tributes significantly to the country’s emissions. ✺
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