The consultation period for a review covering standards that are fundamental to the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) industry has been extended until May 4, 2016.
The current review by Standards Australia relates to AS/NZS ISO 817 Refrigerants - Designation and Safety Classification as well as parts one to four of AS/NZS 5149 Refrigerating Systems and Heat Pumps (safety and environmental requirements).
The second round of public comment for these standards closed on April 4, 2016. However, the deadline has now been extended by four weeks.
Standards Australia public affairs officer, Torrin Marquardt, said the extension is in response to requests from stakeholders seeking more time.
The first phase of public comment was held last year and the second round began in February, 2016.
"A second phase of public comment was needed to deal with some of the technical changes in the drafts," Marquardt said.
"These standards are based on international standards published by ISO in 2014. Once published they will supersede the current Australian and New Zealand standards for refrigerating systems which were published in 1998.
"Once all of the public comments are reviewed and resolved by the committee, the standard will proceed towards publication pending committee approval of the final draft."
Recognising the importance of the new standards, Marquardt said an industry wide education campaign will be launched once they are formally published.
The Australian Refrigeration Association (ARA) welcomed the extension pointing out that these standards define the requirements for the design and use of a wide range of RAC equipment.
ARA president, Tim Edwards, said the proposed standards introduce a refrigerant classification system that will impact RAC system design.
"It is very clear that the phasedown of HFC refrigerants and their replacement with low GWP refrigerants requires new standards," he said.
"However, this context is largely ignored in the draft standard."
As a result Edwards has called on ARA members to make a submission to the review.