Changes have been made to laws introducing new licensing requirements for working on medical gas systems in medical and health facilities.
The new laws include a transition period to ensure work and services can continue.
People undertaking:
- medical gasfitting work
- medical gas technician work
- mechanical services and medical gas work
in medical and health facilities will be required to hold a licence from 1 October 2022.
In addition, obligations have been placed on relevant persons to provide notice of any defective medical gas installations to the occupier of the land where the medical gas installation is.
New licensing requirements
- The laws introduce a robust licensing framework to help ensure public safety where medical gases are used including private and public hospitals, and aged care facilities.
- An endorsed contractor licence or a supervisors or tradesperson certificate will be required for working on a medical gas installation, which is the pipes, hoses or lines used to convey or control the supply or removal of medical gases in medical and health facilities.
- Where there is a serious medical gas incident, the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service must be notified within 24 hours.
Reporting serious incidents
Report serious medical gas incidents by calling 13 10 50
The following information will need to be provided:
- Name of person
- Contact details of person (Email/phone numbers)
- Name of medical facility where incident occurred
- Address of medical facility where incident occurred
- Location at the medical facility
- Incident details
- Date
- Time
- Description of incident
More information
- A licence for medical gasfitting work will be required for the work done to install the pipes. This includes the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of a medical gas installation and includes incidental design work.
- A licence for medical gas technician work will also be required for the commissioning, testing, verification or certification of a medical gas installation.
- A third category of licence, ‘mechanical services and medical gas work’ has been established. This will also allow a person to do medical gasfitting work.
- Licence holders will be required to follow the relevant Australian Standards, International Standards and any standards or requirements set out by the Secretary of the NSW Ministry of Health, as published on the Ministry of Health website. Significant penalties will apply for non-compliance.
- A person is not permitted to do both medical gasfitting work and commission work on the same medical gas installation.
When do these changes start?
- From 1 October 2022, a licence will be required to carry out:
- medical gasfitting work
- medical gas technician work
- mechanical services and medical gas work.
Relevant legislation
- Home Building Act 1989
- Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017