This Standard was prepared by the Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee AG-006, Gas Installations, to supersede AS/NZS 5601.1:2010.

If a Standard is referenced in legislation, the legislative instrument or regulation specifies when the Standard or Amendment comes into effect. Regulatory Authorities have indicated 12 months, following the date of publication, as an appropriate transition period for this Amendment.

This Standard incorporates Amendment No. 1 (August 2015), Amendment No. 2 (May 2016), Amendment No. 3 (April 2020) and Amenment No. 4 (September 2020). The changes required by the Amendments are indicated in the text by a marginal bar and amendment number against the clause, note, table, figure or part thereof affected.

The objective of this Standard is to provide essential requirements and deemed-to-comply solutions, and to promote uniform standards of gas installation.

This Standard is not to be regarded as a design specification or an instruction manual for untrained persons.

This Standard has no legal standing in its own right, but may acquire legal standing in either of the following circumstances:

(a) Where adopted by a government or other authority having jurisdiction over relevant installations.
(b) Where adopted as part of an installation specification.

Regulatory bodies (Technical Regulators) may adopt this Standard. The Standard accommodates some variation of requirements among the regulatory jurisdictions. Appendix N sets out the detail of these variations.

New Zealand instituted legislative changes in 1992 which removed the responsibility for inspection and certification of gas installations from the gas suppliers and instituted a regime of gas certification by a person authorized under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006.

Where the Standard has acquired legal standing, its requirements in Australia are mandatory (variations/exceptions being indicated as described above).

For New Zealand, it is intended that only the performance requirements (Section 2) will be mandatory.

Matters of an advisory or explanatory nature are indicated in the following manners:

(i) The word ‘NOTE(S)’ followed by a statement(s).
(ii) By the inclusion of them in an informative appendix.
(iii) By the inclusion of them in examples or Caution note.

Terms or words that are indicated by italics in the body of the text are defined terms or words. This indication of italics does not apply to the text in the Preface, headings or figures. Section 1 contains the definitions of such terms or words as they apply to the Standard.

All the Australian and New Zealand Technical Regulators agree that this Standard should provide for particular appliances and components to be certified. It was also agreed that this Standard include a statement that this requirement would not apply retrospectively.

Section 2 of this Standard details the various aspects of a gas installation that contribute to its safety, stating performance criteria for compliance with legislative requirements for safety of gas installations. Sections 3 to 6 provide more detailed information as a means of compliance with the performance criteria.

The means of compliance in Sections 3 to 6 are not the only means of compliance with the performance criteria in Section 2.

Major changes from AS/NZS 5601.1:2010 include the following:

(A) Exclusion of 1st family gases (e.g., TLP—tempered liquefied petroleum, see Tables 1.1 and 5.1).
(B) Temperature limitations for press fit end connectors (see Table 4.1).
(C) New means of compliance for ventilation of flued appliances, including new normative appendix for combustion products spillage testing (see Clause 6.4.5 and Appendix R).
(D) Adoption by Australia of Table C1, which was previously for New Zealand only.
(E) Revised Appendix F for pipe sizing in relation to increased flow capacities where supply and equipment pressure permits.
(F) Revised Appendix G for the method in calculating breather vent orifice sizes.
(G) New informative Appendix O for gas appliance commissioning.
(H) New informative Appendix P for symbols used in gas control system diagrams.
(I) New informative Appendix Q comprising a gas installation checklist.
(J) New normative Appendix R for spillage testing of combustion products.

Notes to the text contain information and guidance. They are not an integral part of the Standard.

Statements expressed in mandatory terms in Notes to the Tables and/or Figures are deemed to be requirements of this Standard.

The terms ‘normative’ and ‘informative’ have been used in this Standard to define the application of the Appendix to which they apply. A ‘normative’ Appendix is an integral part of a Standard, whereas an ‘informative’ Appendix is only for information and guidance.

Originated in Australia as AS 1538-1974. AS 1538-1988 jointly revised and redesignated AS/NZS 4600:1996. Previous edition 2005. Third edition 2018.