General information, not legal advice. This entry covers licences, records and reporting. It does not cover your consumer guarantees for a repair; in New South Wales, the Government says NSW Fair Trading may help if you cannot resolve matters about work you contracted.
Before the work: the licence
The Australian Refrigeration Council says to ask to see a technician’s licence before the work begins, because without one they may be operating illegally. Its licence check shows whether a licence is current.
The council lists what can go wrong with an unlicensed technician: a poor service or installation that needs more work, a warranty that may become void, and refrigerant leaking into the air.
If the job includes electrical work, check the electrician’s licence with your own state’s regulator before agreeing to any work. Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office, for example, says to confirm the contractor licence number is current first.
During the work: keep your own entry
A logbook is only as useful as its entries. These are the details the official sources make worth writing down, each for its own reason:
- Licence number
- The council’s licence check works from it.
- Refrigerant
- Every system must be labelled with the refrigerant used, its charge and whether it is flammable.
- Leaks found
- The regulator tells technicians to fix any leak before recharging.
- Refrigerant change
- A change of type may void the warranty or affect insurance.
After the work: certificates
Some states require a certificate after electrical work, and the rules differ. In WA, most electrical work must be followed within 28 days by an electrical safety certificate from your electrical contractor; maintenance and like-for-like replacements are excluded. Elsewhere, ask the electrician whether your job needed one, or check with your state regulator.
If something has gone wrong
Refrigerant work
The National Environmental Protection Agency asks for regulatory breaches and poor workmanship to be reported, with evidence, through the Australian Refrigeration Council’s online form; serious cases are escalated to the agency for investigation. For questions about a new unit’s warranty, the NSW Government’s energy site says to contact the system’s manufacturer directly.
Electrical work, by state
- New South Wales. Complaints about unlicensed work or licensing matters may be referred to Building Commission NSW. By law, any electrical accident that needs medical treatment must be reported, to your electricity provider or to Building Commission NSW on 13 32 20.
- Queensland. Report unlicensed or dangerous electrical work to the Electrical Safety Office.
- Victoria. If your electrical contractor does not show you their licence or does not give you a certificate of electrical safety, Energy Safe Victoria says to contact it immediately.
- Western Australia. If you do not receive your certificate, contact the electrical contractor first, then your local network operator, which in most cases is Western Power or Horizon Power. A missing certificate could mean the work is unsafe or was done by someone unlicensed.
If the repaired unit gives anyone a tingle or shock. NSW Fair Trading says to treat it as a warning and not to touch the appliance until it has been repaired. If someone has been hurt, entry 05 links healthdirect’s first aid, which starts with when to call triple zero (000).
Before any more work is done, a licensed technician can look at what the last repair left behind and explain what your unit needs now.