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Notice of Direction 2018/6.0

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Please see below Notice of Direction from the ABCB

Transition to AS/NZS 4020:2018

Intent

The intent of this notice is to provide direction to WaterMark Certification Scheme stakeholders on compliance with the requirements of AS/NZS 4020:2018.

Background

This Notice of Direction is provided in accordance with clause 5(c) of the Rules for the WaterMark Certification Trade Marks.

Volume Three of the National Construction Code (NCC), the Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA), states that a material or product intended for use in contact with drinking water must comply with the relevant version of AS/NZS 4020. In addition, many applicable specifications referenced on the WaterMark Schedule of Products include AS/NZS 4020 as a secondary reference.

The 2019 edition of the PCA, adopted on 1 May 2019, references the 2018 edition of AS/NZS 4020.

Clause 8.7.2 of the Manual for the WaterMark Certification Scheme (Manual) states that when there has been a change in the applicable specification, the Approved User has 12 months to renew certification of their products to comply with the amended applicable specification. The clause also states this period may be extended in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the ABCB.

The ABCB has agreed to a transition period for the use of AS/NZS 4020:2018 which is included in the 2019 version of the PCA. Note 8 of Schedule 4, the List of Referenced Documents, states the following:

‘Test reports based on the 2005 edition of AS/NZS 4020 will continue to be accepted until 1 May 2024. Test reports prepared after the NCC referenced date for the 2018 edition of AS/NZS 4020 must be based on the 2018 edition.’

In addition to the above concession, the ABCB has used its discretion to permit an extension to the 12 month timeframe specified in clause 8.7.2 of the Manual for existing Approved Users (WaterMark Licence holders) to ensure their products comply with changes to AS/NZS 4020:2018. The extension provides a period of 5 years, from 1 May 2019 to 1 May 2024, to enable compliance with AS/NZS 4020:2018 unless retesting is triggered by other mechanisms within the Scheme.

Reference Documents

  • Plumbing Code of Australia
  • WaterMark Schedule of Products
  • Manual for the WaterMark Certification Scheme

Direction

The direction is as follows:

  1. Note that prior to 1 May 2019, for plumbing and drainage products undergoing new or renewed WaterMark certification, test reports stating compliance with the requirements of either AS/NZS 4020:2005 or AS/NZS 4020:2018 were accepted.
  2. From 1 May 2019, all new testing, whether the testing relates to new applications or existing certified product, must be undertaken against the requirements of AS/NZS 4020:2018.
  3. For the purposes of PCA and WMCS compliance with AS/NZS 4020:2018, the Manual Cl 8.7.2 (Maintenance of Certification) will be replaced with:
    ‘When there has been a change in the applicable specification, the Approved Certifier shall advise the Approved User of this change. It is the Approved User’s responsibility to renew certification of their product and ensure that products are manufactured to comply with all amendments to the applicable specifications referred to in the WMSP. Modifications shall be completed within a period of 5 years, from 1 May 2019 (being the date of PCA adoption of AS/NZS 4020:2018) to 1 May 2024.

Further Information

Should any WaterMark Certification Scheme stakeholder require further clarification, they should contact the ABCB office directly for further advice on 1300 134 631 or email watermark@abcb.gov.au.

Date of publication: June 2022

https://watermark.abcb.gov.au/resource/notice/201860-transition-asnzs-40202018  ­

CMI Advisory Note: CMI’s Process on Technical and/or External Advice

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CMI’s Process on Technical and/or External Advice.

Recently, CMI has received a number of queries which require the expertise of our suitably qualified external consultants. CMI is being asked to validate Certifications, Product Quality Plans and/or Installation Manuals, advise specific fitness for purpose of product, contact Customers, Building Certifiers, Councils and other interested parties on behalf of the Certificate Holder, to discuss information pertaining to Certifications and in some instances, enter into technical discussion on matters of engineering including things like Structural Suitability, Fire or Weatherproofing matters.

In nearly all cases a response to the enquiry will require CMI to seek advice from one or more of its technical or compliance experts. These experts are external consultants, who charge for their time. If CMI contacts an Engineer for an opinion based on an enquiry from a Certificate Holder, then it is the norm for CMI to be billed by the relevant person/s. It is a similar situation when our Unrestricted Building Certifier (UBC) is consulted as is required under the CodeMark Scheme.

In light of the above, we thought we should provide some clarification. CMI are experts in Compliance Auditing and Certification. We operate in line with International Standard ISO 17065, within the ABCB and MBIE guidelines and for the CodeMark and Watermark Scheme Rules. Our staff are, for the most part, Internal Auditors and Administrative staff trained at evaluating compliance in relation to the various certification schemes. CMI relies on external experts for its technical advice, as well as a heavy reliance on our UBC for the content of the Certificate of Conformity’s and compliance with the requirements of the relevant Building Code.

Your Client Liaison Officer and the other Administrative staff at CMI, do not have the technical training or qualifications, to make calls on the technical matters including content of your Certificate of Conformity. CMI are required under both the CodeMark and WaterMark Scheme Rules, as well as the requirements of ISO17065, to refer all technical enquires to the appropriately qualified technical expert.

Consequently, when a Certificate Holder contacts CMI for advice or with a request for us to “go into bat” for them on an enquiry relating to their certification, something that CMI is happy to do, it must be understood that there is a process involved as well as a fee for this service.

It is also important that a very well defined paper trail is kept of all such enquires and any subsequent actions resulting from such enquires. Consequently, CMI requires any requests for technical matters be made using the appropriate form found at https://certmark.org/forms/technical-request/.

CMI wishes to assure you that we will always seek to answer such enquires in a professional and timely manner.