Automotive air conditioning, electrical and cooling technicians industry body VASA is urging Australia’s refrigeration and air conditioning industries to have their say in the review of the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Standard (IChEMS).
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is reviewing standards that impact automotive air conditioning and thermal management along with other industry sectors.
Public consultation closes at 5pm AEST on Friday 23 October, and VASA president Brett Meads encouraged everyone with an interest in the outcome to submit their suggestions.
Meads noted that IChEMS would cover such major decisions as prohibiting new cars entering the market charged with R134a after 1 January 2028.
This will force car manufacturers to adopt R1234yf, which will require workshops to be suitably equipped to handle both refrigerants properly.
“Ten IChEMS standards are being reviewed, and those most relevant to air conditioning and refrigeration are for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) and hydrochlorofluoroolefins (HCFOs),” Meads said.
“These are obviously chemicals with considerable relevance to automotive air-conditioning, refrigeration and thermal management, and the IChEMS review will influence how they are managed in Australia into the future.
“The best outcomes occur when technicians, workshop owners, suppliers, trainers and other industry stakeholders contribute their knowledge and experience.”
Submissions can be made via the survey portal at https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/ichems-s17-proposed-decisions, which offers an option to upload attachments.
Meads said the portal, despite containing a daunting amount of detail, could be used in three simple steps:
- To download the proposed decisions, scroll down to ‘Proposed Schedule 6 chemicals’ for Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and to ‘Proposed Schedule 4 chemicals’ for Hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) and hydrochlorofluoroolefins (HCFOs).
- Find fact sheets at https://www.refrigerantsaustralia.org/government-releases-proposed-global-warming-potential-(gwp)-limits-and-details-of-regulatory-coverage-of-hfos.html.
- Scroll down to the ‘Take the survey’ button to complete the survey, and attach comments in a separate document if the yes/no questions and comment boxes do not suffice.
IChEMS standards are to be enforced on a state-by-state basis, and Meads said it could pose particular concerns for workshops in border towns and national companies operating in multiple states and territories.
The IChEMs compliance requirements on HFOs may sit adjacent to, not aligned with, ARC compliance obligations.
“Now is the time to tell the government what you think about things like that, because after 5pm on Friday 23 October, it will be too late,” Meads warned.