Certification of Gasfitting Work
200. Section 54 of the Gas Act provides for the regulations to establish requirements for the testing, inspection and certification of gasfitting work. The Act also provides for the establishment of prescribed forms and matters for which fees may be payable.
201. At present regulations 24, 24A, 24B, 25, 26 and 38 set out requirements relating to the certification of gasfitting work. It is proposed these be carried forward except as discussed in the following section.
- Regulation 24 defines what work requires certification and who is responsible for that certification.
- Regulation 24A sets out the information that is required for certification and the way in which it must be presented, i.e. on a prescribed form.
- Regulation 24B specifies the parties responsible for the supply and retention of gas certification certificates (gas certificates).
- Regulation 25 specifies that the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGD Board) are responsible for the design and supply of the form of gas certificates and provides the mechanism for the PGD Board to collect a prescribed fee.
- Regulation 38 and Schedule 3 (subclause 2) specifies the fee that may be collected by the PGD Board for the supply of gas certificates.
Why do we have Certification of Gasfitting
202. Certification of gasfitting work is important in two, albeit interlinked, ways. Firstly, the issue of gas certificates, by the gasfitter carrying out the work, implies an increased level of responsibility, assurance and liability for the work they have carried out i.e. the work has been completed to the required standards. This has a flow-on effect in that the consumer may have greater confidence in the safety of that work. Gas certificates are also important as they are recognised as "energy work certificates" under the Building Act and form part of the code of compliance documentation for building works.
203. Secondly, confidence in the certification process can also be enhanced by controlling access to the certificates, for example, limiting the supply of certificates to qualified, registered gasfitters only. Certificates can also be used to track what work is being carried out and where problems have arisen, say with a particular gasfitter.
204. In terms of their direct effect on public safety and the protection of property for gasfitting, gas certificates are, however, of secondary importance to the requirements for qualified competent persons to carry out the work.
205. Currently, gas certificates are required for a wide range of work. Current regulation 24 states that the following kinds of gasfitting work require the issue of a gas certificate:
- all new installations;
- extensions, additions, and replacements to existing gas installations;
- alterations that result in the repositioning of pipework or changes to the operation of the installation;
- any repairs to gas installations, appliances or fittings following notifiable accidents.
Who Should Receive A Copy Of The Gas Certificate
Proposal
Retain the existing requirement to supply the gas certificate to the consumer and PGD Board.
Remove the requirement for gas certificates to be supplied to the gas retailer.
206. 2Currently the regulations state that the gas certificate for a particular job needs to be supplied (by the party carrying out the work) to the PGD Board, the consumer and the gas supplier (i.e. the retailer). The gasfitter (the individual or company) who carried out the work is also required to hold a copy of each gas certificate issued for a specified period of time.
207. Gas retailers have indicated that they no longer require or need copies of gas certificates. No safety reason has been identified that suggests gas retailers need to obtain copies of the certificates. If on occasions they did need to check that work had been certified it would be easy to do this by contacting the PGD Board. It is therefore proposed that the requirement for gas certificates to be supplied to gas retailers is not included in the gas safety regulations. Effectively this will mean current regulation 26 will not be carried forward and modification of current regulation 24B.
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