- The safety of inspectors, service station staff, members of the public and others on site is the most critical aspect of the sampling process.
- Upon entry to a site, the inspector will show their Fuel Quality Standards identity card and ask to speak with the manager or the person in charge (Occupier) at that time.
- The inspector will provide the occupier with a copy of the Occupier's Information Sheet and ask that he or she read it. The inspector will advise the occupier that they can refuse consent to allow the taking of samples and advise what will happen if consent is refused. If consent is refused, a warrant may be obtained from a magistrate to enter and take samples without consent.
- Where consent is granted, the inspector will ask the occupier if they have any questions about the activity or their rights and responsibilities.
- The inspector will then explain the process for taking fuel samples including what grades of fuel will be sampled. Generally, there will be a 10-litre flush that will be returned to the storage tanks and not paid for. Then, the inspector will take three 1-litre samples. These will be paid for before the inspector leaves the site.
- The samples will be securely sealed to prevent tampering, and labelled to identify the source. One sample will be sent to the laboratory, one sample will be left with the occupier and one sample is to be retained and stored by the Commonwealth. The occupier may select which sample they will retain.
- The occupier will be asked to sign the Fuel Sample Record as soon as possible after the sample is taken.
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