AGA NewsFlash

Following the death of Mrs Sonia Sofianopoulos in July 2017, Coroner Hawkins handed down her findings in August 2018.  Coroner Hawkins found that Mrs Sophianopoulos’ death was caused by a confluence of factors and made eight recommendations, with a key recommendation being that a plan and strategy is implemented to phase out all open-flued gas space heaters (OFGSH) in Victoria.

Following the Coroner’s Report, the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) released a Discussion Paper on 4 December 2019 titled “Options for addressing risks from open flued gas space heaters in Victoria” and invited public submissions to be lodged no later than midnight on 18 December 2019.  The Discussion Paper can be obtained at:

https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.vic-engage.files/8915/7611/5861/OFGSH_Discussion_paper__Final.pdf

The four Core Options and two Complimentary Measures set out in the Discussion Paper are summarised as follows:

Core Option 1: Base Case

Under this option the current set of Victorian regulations relevant to OFGSHs and CO poisoning would not be changed.  Educational campaigns run by ESV would continue to inform the public of the dangers associated with exposure to CO and encourage servicing.

Core Option 2: Ban on new installations (excluding like for like replacements)

This option would ban the installation of OFGSHs in households where they were not already installed.  Installations of OFGSHs would continue to be permitted where they replace an existing OFGSH i.e. “like for like replacement”.

Core Option 3: Ban on all installations

This option would ban all OFGSH installations in Victoria, both new and like for like replacement installations.

Core Option 4: Standards based approach

In this option, the Victorian Government would submit a project proposal to Standards Australia requesting an amendment to the gas appliance standards AS/NZS 5263.0 and AS/NZS 5263.1.3.  The amendment would seek to enhance the safety requirements for OFGSHs.

Complementary Measure 1: Mandatory installation of CO alarms

This measure would mandate the installation of CO alarms in all buildings where OFGSHs are installed.  This could be extended to include any type of gas space heater.

Complementary Measure 2: Mandatory servicing requirements

This measure would mandate regular servicing of OFGSHs and recommend potential changes to compliance certificate schemes.  Importantly, mandatory servicing could be broadened to apply to any gas heater, not just OFGSHs.

Following initial feedback on the Discussion Paper, DELWP has prepared a 5th Core Option.  The 5th Core Option is to consider the introduction of improved safety requirements for OFGSH through Victorian regulation.  The Addendum to the Discussion Paper can be viewed at:

https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.vic-engage.files/4615/7707/0331/Addendum_to_discussion_paper_Option_5.pdf

In essence, the 5th Core Option would introduce into Victorian regulations new minimum safety requirements that OFGSH models must meet in order to be certified for supply and installation in Victoria.  To allow consultation on the proposed additional option, the submission deadline to respond to the Discussion Paper and the Addendum has been extended from 18 December 2019, to midnight 31 January 2020.

Anyone wishing to respond to this document can provide feedback online through the Engage Victoria website at www.engage.vic.gov.au or via email gas.safety@delwp.vic.gov.au.