Medical gasfitter and technician obligations
What you need to know about working with medical gases in NSW, including information about mechanical services, compliance, and the rules you need to follow.
Key information
- From 1 October 2022, you must be licensed to install or work on medical gas systems in NSW.
- From 1 March 2023, you will need a mechanical services and medical gas licence to do mechanical services work, including testing and commissioning of mechanical heating, cooling or ventilation systems.
- Medical gasfitters and technicians must complete a certificate of compliance for every medical gas job performed in NSW.
- You cannot do both medical gasfitting work and commission work on the same medical gas installation.
Where there is a serious medical gas incident, the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service must be notified within 24 hours.
Medical gas work and mechanical services
Medical gas work involves the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of a medical gas installation. This includes mechanical services and incidental design work.
Mechanical services and medical gas work comes with high risks. To do this work you must have the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience so that the work meets the required standards.
Categories of work
The different categories of mechanical services and gas work are explained below.
Mechanical services and medical gas work is defined as:
- The construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of a mechanical heating, cooling or ventilation system in a building, which is associated with the heating, cooling or ventilation of that building and includes:
- any valve, regulator, pipe, flue, tank, heating or cooling pipe or surface, boiler, burner, solid fuel heater, coil or other item that is used in the system
- in the case of a cooling tower, any water pipe, valve, pump, automated dosing device or automated bleeding device or any other mechanical component that affects the cooling tower’s cooling water flow rate or wastewater disposal
- roof sheeting and roof flashing that is necessary for the purpose of any work described in this paragraph or paragraphs (b)–(d), and
- medical gasfitting work, and
- the installation, commissioning and any incidental design work that is associated with the installation and commissioning of:
- any part of a single head split system, or
- a ceiling cassette system, or
- an add-on condenser unit for a ducted system associated with the heating and cooling of a building, and
- the installation, commissioning and any incidental design work that is associated with the installation and commissioning of:
- any design work incidental to, or associated with, work described in paragraphs (a) and (b).
It does not include:
- gasfitting work
- work on a cooling tower drift eliminator
- treatment of cooling or heating water
- cleaning of a cooling tower
- disassembly or reassembly of a flue terminal for the purposes of cleaning a solid fuel heater
- connection or disconnection of a system referred to in paragraphs (a)–(d) from a water supply other than disconnection of the system from a water supply at an isolating valve adjacent to a mechanical component of that system.
A full description of mechanical services work can be found in Schedule 1 of the Home Building Act.
Medical gasfitting is the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of a medical gas installation and includes incidental design work.
Medical gas technician work is the commissioning, testing, verification or certification of a medical gas installation.
Learn more about Medical gas and mechanical services work.
Medical gases list
Medical gas is a substance used for medical purposes and prescribed by the regulations as a medical gas.
The list of medical gases includes:
- oxygen
- nitrous oxide
- helium
- nitrogen
- carbon dioxide
- medical air
- surgical tool gas
- common mixtures of the gases referred to above
- waste anaesthetic gas
- air at a negative pressure (commonly known as suctioning)
Licensing
You need to be licenced to do any medical gas work in NSW, regardless of the cost of the work or whether the work is residential, commercial or industrial.
For information on how to get your licence, visit Medical gas and mechanical services work.
Laws to follow
Legislation
On 1 November 2020 the Gas Legislation Amendment (Medical Gas Systems) Bill 2020 came into force in New South Wales.
Medical gas work is regulated under the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017 and the Home Building Act 1989.
Medical gas fitters and technicians must submit a certificates of compliance for all medical gas work under the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Regulation 2018.
Medical gas standards
Australian Standards are issued under licence from Standards Australia. Visit their website to purchase a copy of the relevant standard:
- AS 2896-2021 Medical gas systems – Installation and testing of non-flammable medical gas pipeline systems.
Compliance requirements
From 1 October 2021, medical gasfitter and technicians must complete a certificate of compliance for every medical gas job they perform in NSW. This includes any medical gas installation, remediation or upgrade.
Only people who are licensed medical gasfitters or technicians should submit a certificate of compliance.
A completed certificate of compliance must be submitted within seven days of completing any safety and compliance test on a medical gas installation.
Ensuring mechanical services and medical gas work is compliant
All mechanical services and medical gas work must meet the relevant Australian Standards. This includes AS 2896-2021 Medical gas systems – Installation and testing of non-flammable medical gas pipeline systems.
Apprentices, trainees, and anyone with a tradesperson certificate doing mechanical services and medical gas work, can only work under the supervision of a licensed supervisor. The supervisor is responsible that any work done by an unlicensed worker is compliant and safe.
Submitting your certificate of compliance
The MyCertificates portal is being replaced by BCNSW eCert, a new portal which will go live in December 2025. After 1 March, MyCertificates will no longer be available.
Building Commission NSW is decommissioning MyCertificates and replacing it with the BCNSW eCert portal. You will need to register a new account in the BCNSW eCert portal to submit your certificate of compliance.
Once you are logged into BCNSW eCert, you can:
- create a certificate of compliance with a system generated identification number
- save a partially completed certificate and return to complete later
- submit a completed certificate
- preview a copy of certificate.
Once submitted, the system will automatically email a copy of the certificate to both the licensee and the customer who commissioned the work, enabling the licensee to locate previously lodged certificates.
Tip: Save or bookmark the BCNSW eCert portal login page to your ‘favourites’ for future quick access.
For help using the BCNSW eCert portal, please refer to the BCNSW eCert user guide for medical gas.
Medical gasfitters and technicians must provide a completed copy of a certificate of compliance within 7 days following any medical gasfitting work.
Between 1 December 2025 and 1 March 2026
Medical gasfitters and technicians must provide a completed copy of a certificate of compliance within 7 days using the BCNSW eCert portal or MyCertificates following any medical gasfitting work.
You will need to register a new account in the BCNSW eCert portal to submit your certificate of compliance.
From 1 March 2026
Medical gasfitters and technicians must provide a completed copy of a certificate of compliance within 7 days on the BCNSW eCert portal following any medical gasfitting work.
You will need to register a new account in the BCNSW eCert portal to submit your certificate of compliance.
After 1 March 2026, the MyCertificates Portal will no longer be available for medical gasfitting certificates of compliance.
Visit the BCNSW eCert page to learn more about the portal, including helpful guides and user instructions.
MyCertificates Portal
The MyCertificates Portal allows licence holders to do the following related to medical gas certificates of compliance:
- register to use the portal
- create a certificate of compliance with a system generated identification number
- save a partially complete certificate and return to complete at a later time
- submit a completed certificate
- preview a copy of certificate
- once submitted, the system will email a copy of the certificate to both the licensee and the customer who commissioned the work to enable the licensee to locate previously lodged certificates
How to use the portal
- Register for an account
- Once you have registered, you can log in to MyCertificates
For help using the MyCertificates Portal, please refer to the Medical gas community portal guide.
Who should receive a copy of the certificate of compliance?
It’s the Medical Gas Technician’s responsibility to ensure the following receive a copy:
- the customer who commissioned the work
- Building Commission NSW
Reporting serious incidents
Where there is a serious medical gas incident, the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service must be notified within 24 hours.
Report serious medical gas accidents by calling 13 10 50.
The following information will need to be provided:
- name of person
- contact details of person (email/phone numbers)
- name of medical facility where incident occurred
- address of medical facility where incident occurred
- location at the medical facility
- incident details
- date
- time
- description of incident.
Serious medical gas incidents include incidents:
- caused by the use of a medical gas, a gas installation or by work carried out on a medical gas installation, and
- as a consequence of which a person dies or suffers permanent disability, is hospitalised, receives treatment from a registered health practitioner or is unable to attend work for any period of time.