The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) has communicated with all restricted ‘split system installation’ licence holders Australia-wide to remind them of the limitations of the entitlements of their licence, specifically the work they can and can’t do.
It is critical that restricted heat pump, split systems–installation and decommissioning licence holders do not work beyond the scope of works permitted on the restricted licence as they are not competent to do so.
ARC CEO, Glenn Evans, emphasised the fact that the ARCTick licence scheme is qualifications based and the crucial differences between the Certificate II and Certificate III qualifications.
“The ARCTick licence scheme is a qualifications-based scheme. That’s how licence holders prove their competency to perform services to the ARC.
“A person with a ‘split system installation’ licence has provided a Certificate II level qualification and the Ozone regulations state this is the requirement to demonstrate their abilities to perform installations of split systems up to 18Kw. They have not demonstrated their ability to perform repairs, servicing or maintenance. That’s the domain of Certificate III level licence holders and rightly so. They have demonstrated their ability to perform those services and that’s what their licence entitles them to do.”
It is an offence to handle refrigeration and air conditioning equipment without an appropriate refrigerant handling licence and a penalty of up to $1,800 may apply. Working out the scope of a licence could also result in the cancellation or suspension of a licence. Mr Evans emphasised the importance of these consequences due to the summer months being one of the busiest times of the year for the industry.
“Summer is the business-end of the year for our sector so let’s make it a safe, legal and prosperous one for industry and consumers alike.”
This story was provided courtesy of the ARC and was edited slightly prior to publication.