Ozone

Pre-charged equipment licences

Frequently asked questions

Equivalent carbon price for synthetic greenhouse gases
From 1 July 2012, an equivalent carbon price will be applied to certain synthetic greenhouse gases - hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons (excluding gases produced from aluminium smelting) and sulfur hexafluoride (including equipment or products which contain these gases).

1. When is a pre-charged equipment (PCE) licence required?

A pre-charged equipment (PCE) licence is required to import refrigeration or air-conditioning equipment that contains a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) or hydrochloroflurocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant.

The most common types of HFCs and HCFCs are:

HFCs HCFCs
R134a R22
R404a
R407C
R410a

A full list of substances can be found under Schedule 1 of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 (the Act), available at www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2011C00372 

A PCE licence is required even if the air-conditioning or refrigeration system is incorporated into another object, e.g. a car, boat, yacht, caravan, earth moving equipment, vending or ice-making machines, ice cream makers, airconditioners, refrigerators, water coolers, etc. A licence is required by all importers of pre-charged equipment, independent of the number of units or the amount of gas in the units being imported, unless the equipment has been degassed prior to being imported (and the importer has documentary evidence to confirm this).

To import pre-charged equipment without a licence is an offence under the Act.

2. What are the most common types of products imported as pre-charged equipment and the quantity of gas in them?

The following list should be used as a guide only.  Please note that If the equipment you wish to import is designed to operate on a Hydrocarbon refrigerant such as Ammonia (R717), Propane (R290), Isobutane (R600a) or any other natural refrigerant, you do not need to apply for a pre-charged equipment licence but you must supply to Customs (or your Customs Broker, or Freight Forwarder), documentary evidence (see below) confirming that this is the case.

Product Common charge sizes (grams) Typical Refrigerant Type/s
Domestic Fridge 200 R134a
Portable Fridge (Trailable / Portable Coolroom?) 70 R134a
Vehicle powered fridge ( Camping / 4WD) 50 R134a
Vehicles under 3.5 tonne (e.g. refrigerated delivery van.) 900 R134a
Vehicles over 3.5 tonne (e.g. larger truck) 1600 R134a
Ice cream cabinet 500 R404a
Ice maker 300 R404a generally
Ice cream maker 300 R404a generally
Vending machine 300 R134a
Commercial refrigerated cabinet 1300 R404a
Split system airconditioner (single head) 2000 R22 / R410a
Split system airconditioner (mutli head) 8400 R410a
Portable airconditioner 1300 R22 / R410a
Forklift airconditioner 1300 R134a
Earth moving equipment (A/C) 800 R134a
High pressure chiller (A/C) 4000 R22 / R410a
Commercial chiller or freezer on a boat (Fishing) 10000 R22 / R410a

3. How do I apply for a pre-charged equipment (PCE) licence?

You need to complete and submit an online application form for a pre-charged equipment licence and required supporting documentation to the Department. If you do not have access to the internet a paper form can be obtained from the licensing officer on +61 2 6274 1373 or ozone@environment.gov.au

The application must be accompanied by the correct application fee and import levy (if applicable)

4. How much is the application fee for a pre-charged equipment (PCE) licence?

The standard licence application fee is $3,000.

One-off importers planning to import less than five pieces of equipment arriving in one consignment and containing less than 10Kg of gas in total may be eligible for a partial waiver of the licence application fee. The partial waiver reduces the application fee from $3,000 to $400, with the licence expiring fourteen days after the equipment arrives OR fourteen days after the issue of the licence, whichever is the latest. A partial fee waiver is only available once every two years.

Please note that application fees are not refundable.

5. What happens to the fee collected for a pre-charged equipment (PCE) licence and what does it cover?

Application fees are paid to the department into a special account within the consolidated revenue fund.

Application fees do not attract GST and are used solely for the purposes prescribed in section 65D of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 (the Act). These include:

The licence application fee does not cover the product stewardship requirement (please refer to Questions 15 to 19).

6. How do I know if I am a regular importer or a low volume importer?

To determine whether you are a regular importer or a low volume importer, you will be asked the following questions in the licence application form:

  1. Do you intend to import refrigeration or airconditioning equipment in more than one consignment?
  2. Do you intend to import more than five units of refrigeration or airconditioning equipment?
  3. Will the total fluorocarbon refrigerant charge contained in the refrigeration or airconditioning equipment be more than 10 kilograms?
  4. Have you been granted a partial waiver of the pre-charged equipment licence application fee in the last two years?

You must be able to answer NO to all the questions above in order to qualify as a low volume importer. If you answer YES to any of the above four questions, you are considered to be a regular importer and will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee of $3000.

7. Are there any other fees?

In addition to the licence application fee, importers are required to pay an import levy. The levy is calculated on the amount and type of fluorocarbon refrigerant contained in the equipment to be imported.

Type of refrigerantFee
HCFC3000 per ODF* tonne
HFC$165 per metric tonne

*ODP - Ozone Depleting Potential

8. Is GST payable on the fees?

No GST is payable on licence application or levy fees.

9. When do I pay the levy that applies to the import of pre-charged equipment?

The timing of payment differs depending on whether you are a regular importer or a low volume importer (please refer to Question 6).

Low volume importers must pay the licence levy at the time of the application, that is, the levy is payable with the licence application fee.

Regular importers must pay the levy on a quarterly basis, by the 15th day following the end of each quarter. (please refer to Question 11)

10. How do I pay the application fee and/or levies that apply to the import of pre-charged equipment?

The licence application fee and levies can either be paid by cheque or by electronic funds transfer (EFT). All payments must identify your company name and/or licence number.

EFT payments should be made to:

Account Title: The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
Bank/Branch: Reserve Bank of Australia, Canberra
BSB: 092009
Account Number: 115859

Cheque payments should be made to:

The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601

Please note that the assessment of your application will not commence until a cleared payment is received. It may take up to five (5) working days for a cheque to be cleared, which may delay the assessment of your application.

11. What are the reporting requirements for regular importers?

Holders of a pre-charged equipment licence are required to provide quarterly reports to the minister and pay a levy based on the quantity of scheduled substances imported.

Reports may be lodged at any time before the 15th day following the end of each reporting period (including at any time during the relevant reporting period).

If no imports or exports were made during a reporting period, a 'nil' report is still required.

Reporting Period Reports Due
1 January – 31 March 15 April
1 April – 30 June 15 July
1 July – 30 September 15 October
1 October – 31 December 15 January

If you have any questions about your reporting obligations you may contact the reporting officer on +61 2 6274 1740.

12. How long will it take to process my application?

Normally, the department will aim to process applications within 2 weeks of receiving a fully completed application form including all supporting documentation and payment of the licence fee. However, the statutory timeframes of the Act stipulates that department may take up to 60 days to process an application.

Applications should be lodged as early as possible, prior to the proposed goods being imported.

13. Can I use another person's licence?

It is a condition of all licences that the licensee does not allow another person or business to use their licence number.

If you can identify a current licence holder who wishes to transfer their licence to you, a joint application for a transfer of a licence from the licensee to another person (the transferee) can be made. The department will not impose any application fee on you to complete the transfer although the new licence holder (the Transferee) will still be required to pay the licence levies and report on a quarterly basis.

For further information please contact the Licensing Officer on +61 2 6274 1373 or ozone@environment.gov.au.

14. How long is my licence valid for?

For low volume importers where a partial fee waiver has been granted, a pre-charged equipment licence will commence from the date it is issued and expire fourteen days after issue OR fourteen days after the equipment is imported, whichever is the latest.

Since 18 May 2011, when amendments to the Act came into force, regular pre-charged equipment licences granted on and after this date will generally expire two years from the date on which the licence is granted, unless a shorter date is specified. Licences issued before 18 May 2011 for the 2010-11 period will still expire on 31 December 2011.

15. What is Product Stewardship?

Holders of regular pre-charged equipment licences, who are not low volume importers, are required to hold membership with an approved product stewardship scheme.

That is because importers cannot be physically responsible for the actual gas they import. In most cases, importers on-sell these products and the lifetime of pre-charged equipment is often many years. The way then, that an importer can manage the product stewardship responsibility, is to join a national product stewardship scheme.

In the case of refrigerant gas, product stewardship centers are responsible for the recovery and destruction of gas at the end of life, either during equipment maintenance or decommissioning.

By joining such a scheme, importers contribute to a mechanism that manages the entire lifecycle of the products they have imported.

16. How does a Product Stewardship Scheme work?

The existing voluntary industry scheme, Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA), operates by charging a levy of $2.00 plus GST per kilo of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and Synthetic Greenhouse Gases (SGGs) refrigerant imported. There is a flat annual fee of $200 plus GST for smaller importers.

RRA then pays a fee for the return of any used ODSs or SGGs to tradesman who recovers these gases and returns it to wholesalers (who are participants in the RRA program).

The gas is then transported to RRA for the safe disposal of waste fluorocarbon refrigerants when the gases recovered are too contaminated to re-use or re-claim.

17. How much will it cost to join a Product Stewardship Scheme?

The cost of licensees will vary, depending on the type of product stewardship scheme. Licensees may choose to join an existing scheme or establish a new scheme, either individually or with other importers.

The cost of the existing industry scheme, Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA) is $2.00 plus GST per kilo of ODS or SGG refrigerant imported. There is a flat annual fee of $200 plus GST for smaller importers.

For further information please contact RRA directly via:

Post: GPO Box 753 Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: +61 2 6230 5244
Fax: +61 2 6230 4533
Email: info@refrigerantreclaim.com.au
Web: www.refrigerantreclaim.com.au

18. How do I join an approved product stewardship scheme?

Licensees can consider joining the existing voluntary industry scheme, Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA), or join with other importers to establish a scheme tailored to their needs. Currently, Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA) is the only approved scheme in Australia and they charge a membership fee (See Question 17).

To join the RRA product stewardship scheme, please contact RRA directly via:

Post: GPO Box 753 Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: +61 2 6230 5244
Fax: +61 2 6230 4533
Email: info@refrigerantreclaim.com.au
Web: www.refrigerantreclaim.com.au

19. Can licensees join one scheme now and change later?

Yes. To change from one scheme to another, licensees will be required to inform the department of the alternative scheme (of which they intend to become a member) while remaining a member of the scheme on the licence until the department approves the new scheme and informs the licensee of this.

20. Can I appeal a decision made in relation to my licence application?

If you disagree with a decision made relating to your licence application you can write to the department requesting a reconsideration of the decision and provide further information to support your claims.

You can apply for an independent review of the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) within 28 days of receiving written notification of the outcome of your licence application. Applications should be made to the Deputy Registrar of the AAT in your capital city.

Note: The 28 days for appealing to the AAT commences on the day the original decision on your application is received by you regardless of whether you have asked the department to reconsider the decision.

21. Who can I contact if I have more questions?

For further information contact the licensing officer in the Ozone and Synthetic Gas Team:

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT AUSTRALIA 2601
Ph: +61 2 6274 1373 or 6274 1237
Email: ozone@environment.gov.au

Licences & reporting

Import, export and manufacture of ODS and SGG

Licences

Application & reporting

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