Changes in the Safety Standards of Submersible Pumps

New electrical safety requirements for the importing, manufacturing, and sale of submersible pumps came into force from December 2021.

These charges will apply to models of submersible pumps sold as “in-scope” electrical equipment. “In-scope” equipment is equipment not marketed exclusively to industry and generally covers household articles. This change particularly applies to submersible pumps sold online or over the counter to the public.

The changes in the latest published version of Australian Electrical Safety Standard AS/NZS 4417.2 (2020) will make it mandatory for submersible pumps to have a Certificate of Conformity before they can be sold. These Certificates of Conformity must be issued by a recognised certifier under the Australian Electrical Equipment Safety Scheme (EESS) and ensure the pumps have been proven in a test laboratory to meet Australian Safety Standards. Submersible pumps previously were only required marking with the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) to indicate the importer or manufacturer of the pump had registered with EESS to take responsibility for the electrical safety of the product. Now the electrical safety compliance of the submersible pump must also be shown to have been independently checked by a certifier and referenced to a certificate of conformity. Retailers and wholesalers need to ensure they buy from a registered responsible supplier. Purchasers and sellers can check for the certificate or the registration of their submersible pump on a public website by visiting www.eess.gov.au/public.

Several recent electrical fatalities and injuries involving submersible pumps have triggered their reclassification into the higher safety category of level 3 in-scope electrical equipment. The increased regulatory requirements will mean retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, and importers of submersible pumps will need to look for the RCM and check the pump model’s registration on the EESS national register to ensure the new requirements are met to avoid breaching their duties under the Queensland Electrical Safety Act 2002 and Electrical safety Regulation 2013 and a possible fine.

It is often overlooked that both the power plug and the supply cord of the submersible pump already have a long-standing electrical safety requirement to be independently marked and referenced with their own certificate of conformity before the pump can be sold.

Details of the requirements for the selling of electrical equipment in Australia can be accessed at www.eess.gov.au.

Article supplied by the Office of Industrial Relations – Electrical Safety Office.

New Building Forms

The Building Regulation 2021 commenced on 1 September 2021.

As part of the new Regulation, all building forms have been updated to reflect the new provision numbering and parts of the Building Regulation 2021. The building form numbering has not changed, except for two forms, which have been renumbered and six new forms approved. One of these new forms is form 43. In short, whilst a form 16 still exists, the form 43 replaces the form 16 in relation to providing installation information to a certifier/responsible person about work that does not fall under the Plumbing and Drainage Act (regulated plumbing work).

In previous articles, we have covered the appropriate application for a form 16 and that it is not relevant or required for regulated plumbing work under the Plumbing and Drainage Act (PDA).

In November 2019 the then department of Housing and Public Works released a guideline titled “Certificates from plumbers relating to building work”, which in part stated:

“This guideline is for building certifiers who are considering seeking inspection help through completion of an approved form (Form 16—Inspection Certificate/Aspect Certificate/QBCC Licensee Aspect Certificate (Form 16)) under the Building Regulation 2006 (BR) in relation to plumbing and drainage work under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (PDA).

This guideline clarifies that it is not appropriate for building certifiers to seek inspection help in relation to plumbing and drainage work under the PDA.

Note: This guideline does not deal with inspection help for plumbing work that is also fire protection work (including sprinkler systems, hydrants, pumps, and hose reels) under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991. Refer to the Guideline — ’Building certifiers obtaining help from competent persons for fire protection work’ for advice on obtaining inspection help for plumbing work that is also fire protection work.

Whilst the form 43 replaces the form 16 for works that do not fall under the PDA, the same guidelines still apply – form 43s are not required for regulated plumbing and drainage work.

The guideline also states:

“Certificates are not required for work performed under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018

“Under section 135 of the PDA, local governments are responsible for administering the requirements of the PDA relating to plumbing and drainage in their areas. As this work is regulated by local governments under the PDA, certifiers should not certify or inspect this work when assessing building work under the BA.

“Some plumbing work is regulated under both the BA and the PDA.3 For example, the water efficiency requirements under Queensland Development Code (QDC) MP 4.1 are called up by both the BA and PDA. As local governments are responsible for ensuring that plumbing work complies with QDC MP 4.1, certifiers should also not certify or inspect this work when assessing building work under the BA.

“As certifiers do not certify or inspect work that is regulated under the PDA, they should not request certificates from a PDA licensee. There is no requirement for a licensee to provide a certificate for work that is regulated under the PDA.”

Form 43 – Aspect Certificate (QBCC Licensee)

• A QBCC licensee completes this form, if they have carried out the aspect work (or authorised under the QBCC Regulation) that is subject to a BDA for a single detached class 1a building or a class 10 building or structure.
• The QBCC licensee must complete the form informing the building certifier how the aspect work complies with the BDA.
• Currently, the form 16 – Inspection certificate is issued to advise about the compliance of a stage of building or aspect work.
• An appendix provides information for the industry, including QBCC licensees and building certifiers.

MPAQ members can contact the MPAQ Technical team on 07 3273 0800 or email info@mpaq.com.au.