Compliance activities for the 2015/16 financial year

The Department of the Environment and Energy’s Compliance and Enforcement Branch (the Department) detects, deters and investigates non-compliance with the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 and the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations 1995.

The Department works collaboratively with the Australian Refrigeration Council (the ARC) and is responsible for:

• ensuring individuals and businesses that handle or trade ozone-depleting substances or synthetic greenhouse gases have the required licence or trading authorisation.
• monitoring the compliance of individuals and businesses with the conditions of the licences, trading authorisations or permits.
• gathering and analysing information on trends and developments within the ozone community to support efforts to improve compliance.
• investigating incidents of suspected non-compliance referred to the Department.

From 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016, the Department received 251 referrals from the ARC for suspected non-compliance. The activities that were undertaken by the Department in the past 12 months have included:

• 92 monitoring inspections of trading authorisation and permit holders’ business premises. 87 businesses (95%) that were subject to an inspection were quickly brought into compliance with conditions and no further action was necessary.
• The majority of these referrals related to suspected non-compliance with trading authorisation conditions. The remainder were suspected of operating without an appropriate permit.
• 97 investigations into alleged refrigerant discharges and unlicensed activity. A recent example was working with an ice skating facility to identify and address the discharge of refrigerant from a leaking cooling system. The facility has since replaced the leaking system with a brand new glycol system.
• Refusal of one permit on the basis that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence. This case constituted the first use of the fit and proper person provisions.
• Removal of four advertisements that were selling disposable cylinders on various websites.
• Ongoing enquiries into industry members’ allegations of suspected non-compliance. To date, seven out of the eight cases have been found compliant with the requirements of the Act and Regulations.

If you have information about the illegal discharge of ozone depleting substances or synthetic greenhouse gases, or other non-compliance with the requirements of the licensing and permit scheme, you can report it to the Department at: ozone.compliance@environment.gov.au or to the ARC at enquire@arctick.org.

Back to newsletter