COAG DECISION REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT

Transcription

1 COAG DECISION REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT PROPOSAL FOR NATIONAL LICENSING OF THE REFRIGERATION AND AIR-CONDITIONING OCCUPATIONS QUEENSLAND CONSULTATION This document highlights some of the key differences between current licensing arrangements and those proposed under national licensing in the COAG Decision Regulation Impact Statement and poses a number of questions for Queensland stakeholders. Your submissions will assist the Queensland Government to develop its final position on the national licensing reform. The Council of Australian Governments Standing Council for Federal Financial Relations will consider the Decision Regulation Impact Statement, legislative package, and the results of this consultation before making a final decision regarding national licensing.

2 I. Options considered in Decision RIS Option 1 No licensing (except for the Commonwealth ArcTick licence) This option means not licensing the refrigeration and air conditioning occupation under national or separate state or territory licensing schemes. Regulation of the occupation would occur only through the ArcTick licence. Regulation would also continue through other legislation such as dangerous goods, occupational health and safety, health, environmental requirements, and the requirement to hold a restricted electrical licence to undertake the associated electrical work would continue under all options. Option 2 National licensing Under this model, jurisdictions would agree to a common set of licence categories and eligibility requirements to create one system and an agreed set of requirements to operate throughout the country. To help ensure consistency, a national policy framework would apply, overseen by the National Occupational Licensing Authority. The system would be underpinned by national legislation and policy development processes. This would ensure the system remains sustainable and provide a forum in which to resolve jurisdictional differences. Option 3 Automatic mutual recognition Under this option, each jurisdiction would continue to issue licences against existing jurisdictional categories and associated scopes of work but with these licences being recognised by all states and territories without the licensee having to reapply for a licence or pay an additional fee. Recognition would be restricted to those licences where equivalency has been declared. Mutual recognition arrangements would be enhanced so that licensees would no longer have to apply for a licence in multiple jurisdictions. Over time, there would be opportunity to move towards a harmonised set of categories or for jurisdictions to deregulate areas identified as unnecessary. Option 4 Status quo Under this option, there would be no changes to existing licensing and mutual recognition arrangements. States would continue to operate their own licensing systems, with different jurisdictional policy development processes, applicant assessment standards and mechanisms and disciplinary outcomes for breaches of conduct requirements. This option would not address current regulatory complexities and is not the preferred option. Preferred option (but not recommended option) In the Decision RIS, no licensing (except for the ArcTick licence) is the preferred option, as determined under the Council of Australian Governments best practice regulation guidelines, because it provides the highest net benefits to the community. However, after considering a range of factors, such as appropriate levels of safety to consumers and reduced costs for businesses and licensees, this option is not supported as the recommended option in the Decision RIS because industry does not support it. Alternative option National licensing (Model A) The Consultation RIS proposed two possible options for licensing the refrigeration and airconditioning occupation: (i). National licensing model A licensing at contractor, occupational or worker, and provisional licence levels; and (ii). National licensing model B partial regulation (licensing at the contractor level only). This option would consider the ArcTick licence as the occupational or worker licence. Page 2

3 The Decision RIS presents national licensing Model A as the alternative option, which has the support of industry and regulators. The model represents a benefit to the community (although a lower benefit than national licensing Model B), and according to industry and regulators provides additional health, safety and consumer protection. 1. Which of the following options do you support: (i). no licensing (ii). national licensing (Model A) (iii). status quo (iv). automatic mutual recognition (v). other II. Proposed licence categories National licensing proposes to establish the following uniform licence categories: (i). refrigeration and air conditioning licence; (ii). provisional refrigeration and air conditioning licence; (iii). refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence. The Decision RIS states at pages XV and 10, that a considerable number of submissions to the Consultation RIS supported national licensing Model A, but that this was predicated on the removal of the restricted refrigeration and air conditioning (heat pump and split system installation) contractor and occupational licence. Therefore, following results of consultation, it is proposed to remove from national licensing Model A the restricted refrigeration and air conditioning (heat pump and split system installation) contractor and occupational licence as proposed in the Consultation RIS. Under national licensing, a person wishing to carry out work on heat pump and splits systems will need to hold the refrigeration and air conditioning licence. This will require a Certificate III in Refrigeration and Air conditioning from the UEE11 Electrotechnology Training Package, or a Certificate III in Engineering Mechanical Trade from the MEM05 Metal Engineering Training Package. 2. Do you agree with the proposal to remove the restricted refrigeration and air conditioning (heat pump and split system installation) contractor and occupational licence from national licensing Model A? III. Proposed regulated work Refrigeration and air conditioning licence The refrigeration and air conditioning licence will authorise installing, replacing, repairing, altering, maintaining, commissioning or decommissioning refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. Refrigeration and air conditioning work includes decanting the refrigerant from refrigeration and airconditioning equipment. Refrigeration and air conditioning equipment means equipment used for heating or cooling a building; and that uses a refrigerant. Refrigerants proposed to be prescribed are: (i). ammonia; (ii). carbon dioxide; (iii). chlorofluorocarbon; (iv). halon; (v). hydrocarbons; (vi). hydrochlorofluorocarbon; Page 3

4 (vii). (viii). (ix). hydrofluorocarbon; perfluorocarbon; water used in an evaporative cooling system. Queensland does not currently license refrigeration and air conditioning at an occupational level, only at a contractor level. The national occupational licence and contractor licence will replace the current contractor licences under the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 for (a) refrigeration, airconditioning and mechanical services including unlimited design; and (b) refrigeration, airconditioning and mechanical services including limited design. Licensees would also continue to hold an ArcTick licence under the Commonwealth Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act Mechanical services will be licensed under the plumbing and gasfitting occupations. (For additional details concerning mechanical services, see the Decision RIS for plumbing and gasfitting occupations, and the associated consultation document prepared by Queensland Treasury and Trade.) Queensland does not currently require an occupational licence for mechanical services work. In addition, the licence for air handling and duct installation issued under the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 would no longer be available under national licensing. However, ducting is proposed to be further considered as part of the second wave building occupations for national licensing. National licensing proposes to prescribe hydrocarbon as a refrigerant. In Queensland, a gas work licence (hydrocarbon refrigerant) is required under the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 if a refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic wishes to work with hydrocarbon refrigerants. To obtain the gas work licence, an applicant must complete specified qualification requirements. No such qualification requirements are proposed to be prescribed under national licensing. Provisional refrigeration and air conditioning licence The provisional licence will authorise refrigeration and air conditioning work carried out under the supervision of a person who is the holder of a refrigeration and air conditioning licence. Provisional licences would only be available to off shore migrants. Refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence The refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence will authorise entering into contracts to carry out refrigeration and air conditioning work. The proposed contractor licence will replace the existing refrigeration, airconditioning and mechanical services including unlimited design licence, and the refrigeration, airconditioning and mechanical services including limited design licence issued under the Queensland Building Services Authority Act Do you agree with the proposed regulated work and exclusions for the refrigeration and airconditioning licence? 4. Do you agree with the proposal to include hydrocarbon as a refrigerant, without requiring additional qualification requirements? 5. Do you agree with the proposed regulated work for the provisional refrigeration and air conditioning licence? 6. Do you agree with the proposed regulated work for the refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s Page 4

5 licence? IV. Proposed exemptions National licensing proposes to introduce two exemptions. The first exemption is for individuals who are carrying out regulated work: (i). under a contract of employment and training, or as a student undertaking competency based training, for the purpose of gaining qualifications necessary for obtaining the licence; and (ii). under the supervision of an individual who is licensed to carry out the regulated work without supervision. This would be a new exemption, given that Queensland does not currently license refrigeration and air conditioning at the occupational level. The second exemption applies to a person who is the holder of a prescribed authority (by whatever name called) and who, as part of carrying on business under that authority, contracts, for the provision of that regulated work other than under a contract of employment, with another person licensed to carry out that work. Prescribed authorities, for Queensland, are any of the following licences under the Queensland Building Services Authority Regulation 2003 (Qld): (a) a licence of a class mentioned in Parts 4 to 10 of Schedule 2 of that regulation; (b) a licence of one of the following continuing classes: (i). building restricted to alterations and additions; (ii). building restricted to external finishes; (iii). building restricted to building removal; (iv). building restricted to renovations, repairs and maintenance; (v). building restricted to repairs and maintenance; (vi). building restricted to non structural renovations. Under this exemption, Queensland building contractors would not be required to hold a refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence if they contract with a person who holds a refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence to carry out that work. However, the proposed exemption would not appear to extend to other trade contractors who are currently authorised to contract for work that is proposed to be regulated work under national licensing and that is incidental to their trade work. 7. Do you agree with the proposed exemptions? V. Proposed eligibility requirements Under national licensing, a person will be eligible for a licence if: (i). for an individual, the individual has the prescribed qualification; (ii). the person s standard of personal probity is appropriate for the licence; (iii). the person s standard of financial probity is appropriate for the licence; and (iv). the person is not an excluded person. The Decision RIS states at page 57 that it is not proposed to include experience as a licence eligibility requirement for national licensing. No additional requirement for a period of experience will be imposed as a licence eligibility requirement, following completion of an apprenticeship. The proposed qualification pathways under national licensing will be the only pathway for obtaining an electrical licence. Consequently, the pathways available under the Queensland Building Services Authority Regulation 2003 will cease to apply. The Decision RIS does not specify how the national regulations Page 5

6 will deal with superseded training packages and units. This may suggest that the National Licensing Authority would not be able to accept a new training package or course code until the national regulations are amended to include the new training package or unit. Existing requirements under the Queensland Building Services Authority Regulation 2003 for managerial qualifications and experience requirements will be removed. National licensing will also allow individuals (referred to in the Decision RIS as sole traders ) who do not hold a refrigeration and air conditioning licence to apply for a refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence to carry out regulated work if they nominate a nominee who holds the refrigeration and air conditioning licence. 8. Under national licensing it is proposed that there will be no experience requirements for the occupational licence. Do you agree with this proposal? 9. Under national licensing a person would not be required to have business qualifications to be eligible for the refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence. Do you agree with this proposal? 10. Under national licensing individuals applying for a refrigeration and air conditioning contractor s licence would not be required to hold the refrigeration and air conditioning occupational licence to be eligible for the contractor licence if they nominate a nominee who holds the occupational licence. Do you agree with this proposal? Page 6