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About the Ministerial Council on Energy: The Ministerial Council on Energy is the national policy and governance body for the Australian Energy Market, responsible for delivering the economic and environmental benefits for Australia resulting from implementation of the Council of Australian Governments national energy policy framework.
MCE > Gas Safety Strategy

Gas Safety Strategy

Gas Appliance (Carbon Monoxide) Safety Strategy

On 3 March 2011, the Federal Parliament passed a motion introduced by Dr Sharman Stone MP to explore options to mitigate the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning following the deaths of two young boys, Chase and Tyler Robinson.

In response to this motion, in May 2011 the Ministerial Council on Energy (MCE) requested that the Gas Technical Regulator's Committee (GTRC) investigate the causes and potential options to mitigate the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning from domestic gas appliances.

The GTRC includes members from state and territory authorities in Australia and New Zealand that are responsible for regulating gas networks and appliances. Their work focuses on:

  • Promoting safety in all aspects of gas transportation, storage and use;
  • Achieving a consistent regulatory environment and a consistent and common approach between jurisdictions to gas technical and safety activities;
  • Benchmarking to identify best practices; and
  • Sharing of information.

Terms of reference for development of the Gas Appliance (Carbon Monoxide) Safety Strategy. [PDF Image PDF, 32KB | Word IconDOC, 44KB]

In July 2011 the GTRC provided the MCE a draft Strategy that provides a detailed technical discussion of the causes of CO accumulation to hazardous levels and discusses the merits of potential options to mitigate the risk of CO poisoning in residences and recreational vehicles. A copy of the draft Strategy can be downloaded from the following link:

GTRC Draft Gas Appliance (Carbon Monoxide) Safety Strategy [PDF Image PDF, 1MB]

A public consultation on the draft Strategy was carried out from 25 July to 19 August 2011. Non-confidential submissions received are available.

Queries regarding the Gas Appliance (Carbon Monoxide) Safety Strategy may be directed by email to scer@ret.gov.au at any time.