The NSW government has made all air conditioners using flammable refrigerants “declared articles” from July 1, 2020.
This means that air conditioners using flammable refrigerants cannot be sold or traded in NSW without official certification by the state government.
This certification which includes local independent testing must be provided and approved by the government prior to any sale.
The new regulation states that flammable refrigerants are Class 2 or Class 3 but not Class 2L (R32 is 2L).
A spokesperson for the Australian Standards office told CCN the new law is based on International Standard ISO 817.
A spokesperson for NSW Fair Trading said air conditioners incorporating flammable refrigerants are now “declared articles” as they have specific and different risks to a normal air conditioner.
“In 2018 they were introduced into the declared list with a date of application of July 1, 2020, this delay was in in order to allow traders to seek certification,” the spokesperson said.
“Past this date it may be a breach of the Act to sell such an article without certification.”
The spokesperson said certification can be gained through Fair Trading, an interstate regulator or one of 10 independent certifiers recognised by NSW.
He said there are some electrical articles that are also ‘declared’ and must comply with local standards before being sold in Australia.
Similar regulations exist in other states including Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.