Knowledge/Accreditation and audits/What counts as decommissioned, and the disposal proof to keep
What counts as decommissioned, and the disposal proof to keep
Three rules, and you need all of them. Decommission the old unit safely so it can never be used again. Get rid of any refrigerant the way the Commonwealth Ozone Protection Act requires. And take the waste, old unit included, off the property and dispose of it under Victoria's Environment Protection Act 2017.
- The old unit
- Can't be re-useddecommissioned in a practical, safe way
- Refrigerant
- Ozone Protection ActCommonwealth, 1989
- Waste removal
- Off the premisesEnvironment Protection Act 2017, Victorian
- Stricter rules from
- 31 May 2023Statutory Rule 25/2023
The three rules, almost word for word
- It can't be usable againThe wording is decommissioned in a practical and safe manner to ensure it cannot be re-used again. So you can't put a working unit aside, and you can't sell it on.
- The refrigerant goes the Commonwealth wayAny refrigerant in the old unit has to be disposed of under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 and its regulations. That's Commonwealth law, not Victorian.
- The waste leaves the siteAny waste or debris from the job has to be taken off the customer's premises and disposed of under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and its regulations. That includes the old unit, wherever it's practical and safe to remove it.
These tougher rules started on 31 May 2023 (Statutory Rule S.R. 25/2023). They cover space heating and cooling jobs (Part 6) and water heating jobs (Parts 1 and 3). If you set up your process before then, you set it up for the old, looser rule.
Decommissioning is where most of the money is
This isn't a side issue of paperwork. On a reverse cycle job, having an old unit to decommission is close to the whole value of the claim.
Treat those as a rough guide, not a quote. But they make the point. Getting the decommissioning evidence right isn't box-ticking. It's most of what the job is worth, and it's an obvious first thing to check if anyone looks at the claim.
What I'd keep on file
The Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Specifications say what has to happen, but they don't give you a set list of evidence. Auditors work from the Essential Services Commission's own activity guides. So treat the list below as good practice, not an official checklist. We put it together from the rules ourselves rather than copying it from any one document.
- Photos of the old unit in place before you take it out
- Photos showing it's been made unusable
- Your refrigerant recovery record for the unit
- The disposal or waste transfer record showing it left the premises
- Both decommissioning declarations, the one the customer signs and the one the accredited person signs
One practical warning. Quietly keeping back a working unit is the clearest way to turn a good claim into a bad one. It contradicts a declaration somebody has signed.
Working out whether to get accredited?
It's a real decision with real numbers on both sides, and most of the people offering advice make money whichever way you go.
Kevin has no stake in which way you go. Ask him.
Who this is for: small and medium HVAC contractors in Victoria. If you're a homeowner after a rebate or a repair, you need a licensed contractor, not us, and yours can point you the right way.
Related
- Six years of records, and the other clocks people mix upWhat you have to keep if you're accredited, and for how long. Why every certificate carries your number, and the deadlines that catch people out.
- The fact sheet and sizing advice you owe before they signThree things you must do before the customer agrees, or no certificate can be created. Plus the state's published sizing bands by floor area.
- The register timing trap that kills finished jobsA certificate fails if the product isn't on the register when the certificate is created, not when you installed it. And the calculator isn't the check.
- What actually triggers an audit, and who pays for itThree different things get called an audit. One is routine and scheduled, one needs reasonable grounds, and one happens to every certificate you create.
Review date: 1 January 2027. Figures in this area change without much notice and this page carries some that will go stale. Every number above is dated and sourced so you can check it yourself. If you find something out of date here, tell us and we will fix it.