Supplying, selling and hiring

Overview

Gas appliances for sale or hire in Victoria, including second-hand appliances, must meet Energy Safe Victoria’s requirements. To ensure public safety, all gas appliances must be accepted by Energy Safe, either by an approved certification body or by Energy Safe directly

Refer to Appliance acceptance submissions for details on appliance approval processes.

Auction houses, dealers, and suppliers must ensure that all gas appliances have a compliance (data) plate affixed to them, and that those appliances are in a proper state of repair.

There are regulations that apply to the supply of gas appliances and equipment. The requirements set out in the regulations must be followed. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

• Part 3 of the Gas Safety Act 1997
• Gas Safety (Gas Installation) Regulations 2018

Compliance plates and badges

Every accepted gas appliance is required to have a compliance (data) plate affixed to it. The compliance plate must display the following information:

• certificate holder’s trade name or identifying symbol
• model designation
• month and year of manufacture or serial number
• gas or gases for which the appliance is intended to be used
• total nominal gas consumption
• certification number or Energy Safe acceptance number.

The certificate/acceptance number is evidence that the appliance has been accepted.

The badge, and the compliance plate, may have been removed. If the make, model and serial number can be positively identified and if a certifier confirms that this make and model is a certified appliance, the appliance may be regarded as accepted.

Supplying gas appliances for hire

When a gas appliance is offered for hire, it is subject to Section 71 of the Act which makes it an offence to supply or sell unaccepted or unlabelled appliances. Section 71 requires the appliance to have been accepted by Energy Safe and have an Energy Safe approved label affixed to it.

Gas appliances for hire must have been accepted by Energy Safe.

Appliances offered for hire should be checked regularly to confirm they are in a state of proper repair. This includes:

• they can be operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions,
• they operate properly and safely, and
• safety items such flame failure devices work.

Hire companies should be aware of these requirements and comply with them.

Sale and supply of second-hand gas appliances

It is common for a second-hand gas appliance (and occasionally new appliances) to be offered for sale by auction. Sale (and supply) of any Type A gas appliance is subject to Section 71 of the Act. This requires the appliance to be accepted by Energy Safe for the purposes of sale or supply and be in a state of proper repair.

The acceptance of a second-hand gas appliance may have been negated by alteration or by relocation (this applies to appliances accepted under a Tier 2 arrangement, as denoted on the appliance badge). If acceptance has been negated, re-acceptance must be obtained before commissioning.

It is an offence to supply or sell an appliance that is not accepted, including a second-hand appliance.