What Is Pressure Vessel Registration?

What Is Pressure Vessel Registration

Do you own any pressure vessels? If you do, you are required to register it with the relevant authorities (Ministry of Manpower) according to the legal guidelines and standards set out by Australian law. Failure to do so may leave you liable to pay hefty fines. 

Some good examples of commonly used pressure vessels include autoclaves, hot water boilers, accumulators, steam boilers, gas storage vessels, vacuum trucks, refrigeration equipment, fuel filters, pressure piping and air receivers used to store compressed air among others. 

If you are wondering what pressure vessel registration is, you have come to the right place. To help you understand what it is, this article will explore the following important questions: 

  • What Is A Pressure Vessel?
  • Why Do You Need To Register A Pressure Vessel?
  • How To Register A Pressure Vessel

Read on to find out more about pressure vessel registration. 

What Is A Pressure Vessel?

To understand what pressure vessel registration is, you first need to understand what a pressure vessel is. In the simplest of terms, a pressure vessel is any vessel or container that is designed to be used in holding a liquid or gas (fluids) that is subjected to external or internal pressure. 

All interconnected components and parts, including gauges, valves and any other fittings extending to the first point of connection to the pipe-work in use are considered to be part of the pressure vessel.  

Why Do You Need To Register A Pressure Vessel?

If you own a pressure vessel, you must register it in accordance with the provisions set out by the Workplace Safety and Health Regulations. 

There are two main reasons why you need to register pressure vessels. The first one is to ensure that the equipment in question is safe to use. Using unregistered pressure equipment exposes users to unnecessary safety risks. 

The second reason why you must register pressure vessels is to avoid the hefty fines associated with non-compliance with the legal guidelines set forth by the law. 

How To Register A Pressure Vessel?

It is upon you, the owner, to register pressure vessels. The law requires you to contract an authorised examiner to inspect and register your pressure vessel(s). To facilitate the work of the examiner, the owner must provide the examiner with all the necessary registration documentation relating to the equipment in question. These documents must be retained until the pressure equipment is no longer in use.  

On their part, the work of the authorised examiner is to inspect and evaluate the vessel, furnish you with an examination report, have the vessel registered on your behalf, and where necessary, create a non-notifiable workplace to register the equipment. 

For clarity purposes, the law requires you to register air receivers, steam boilers, economisers, steam receivers, superheaters and refrigeration plant pressure receivers.

However, you are not legally required to register the following pressure vessels: 

  • Pressure equipment designed to work under negative pressure or vacuum. 
  • Steam boilers with a maximum working pressure below 0.5bar. 
  • Refrigerating plant pressure receivers, steam receivers or air receivers designed for safe operation below 0.5bar, or whose product under safe operating conditions (including volume and pressure) is below 100 bar litres. 
  • Pressure equipment that is only designed to process other substances such as chemicals, without steam, water or air – when utilised as a refrigerant. 

It is worth noting that even if your pressure vessel is exempted from registration, it still needs to comply with the regulations set forth under the Workplace Safety and Health Act. 

Final Thoughts

Registration of pressure vessels is mandatory. Owners of the equipment in question must engage an authorised examiner to perform the necessary inspection, testing and registration of their pressure vessels, to ensure compliance with the relevant legal guidelines. 

At Sherwood Design & Engineering Pty Ltd, we have been providing engineering design and support services to industries such as steelmaking, minerals processing, water treatment, food/pharmaceuticals, materials handling, and many others for more than 40 years.

We specialise in pressure vessel design and pressure vessel design verification, as well as plant engineering where design, plant layout and preparation of arrangement, fabrication and manufacturing drawings are required.

If you are looking for trustworthy and reliable pressure vessel engineering design and support services, please call us today on (02) 9437 3566 or leave an enquiry.

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