Australian Capital Territory
Gas Safety (Codes of Practice) Approval 2010
Disallowable instrument DI2010-52
made under the
Gas Safety Act 2000, s 65 (Codes of Practice)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Gas Safety Act 2000, s 65 (Codes of Practice) provides that—
•	the relevant Minister may, in writing, approve codes of practice for the Act; and
•	a code of practice may set out practices, standards and other matters about the safe installation, connection, or operation of consumer piping systems or appliances, inter alia; and
•	for the gas safety legislation, as defined in the ACT, a code is relevant to gas fitting or appliance work, a consumer piping system or an appliance if the code purports to apply to it.

The Gas Safety (Codes of Practice) Approval 2009 (“the approval”) provides the Minister’s approval of such a code of practice (the “approved code”), which is set out at schedule 1 to the approval, in relation to certain relevant aspects of safe installation, connection, and operation of consumer piping systems.

Several terms in the approved code are defined in the Act, including the terms—

•	consumer piping system

•	gas

•	inspector

•	responsible gas fitter.

Historically in the ACT, Government gas inspectors have inspected consumer piping systems, but the relevant legislation has not clearly distinguished the point at which the inspections are mandatory.  The approved code makes it clear that the time for the mandatory inspection is before gas is connected to the system, for self-evident gas-safety reasons.  In the case of an occupied class 1 building that has never been connected to the gas network and notification has been give to ACTPLA the gas can be turned on to the building at the direction of  a gas inspector.   If no notification or inspection occurs, or the consumer piping system does not pass a test as set out in the Australian gas standards, the approved code will be contravened if gas is connected to the system except in circumstances prescribed by the code —

•	connecting gas only for the responsible gas fitter’s purposes or an inspector inspecting or testing a consumer piping system while the gas fitter or inspector attends the system for the testing or inspecting; and
•	a part of a consumer piping system comprising an extension (the extension) to an existing consumer piping system (the system) if the system can be lawfully connected to the gas supply from the gas meter.
•	An occupied class 1 building that– has never been previously connected to the gas network; and has a consumer piping system installed that has not previously been used.
•	A consumer piping system where a gas inspector has directed the inspection mentioned in Section 2 of the Gas Code does not apply.

Generally, the gas inspectors are specialist public servants who routinely inspect gas fitting work when licensed gas fitters call for inspection of new consumer piping system installations.

It is not intended that the approved code exhaustively cover all or any matters that codes of practice under the Act, s65 (Codes of practice) may cover.  The approval makes it clear that the approved code does not prevent other codes of practice, if any, approved under the Act, s65 (Codes of practice) from operating in conjunction with the code approved under this determination.

The approved code will remove uncertainty about when mandatory inspection of consumer piping systems is required, thus enhancing gas safety for consumers.  

Cost impacts

The approved code will have negligible cost impacts as Government inspections of consumer piping systems are currently routinely conducted as part of checking work done by gas fitters—the code merely clarifies when the mandatory inspections must be made.