So What does Pressure Equipment Compliance look like?

Contrary to what other industry operators and inspection groups may say, AS3788 is NOT a compliance document, and has no jurisdictional authority nor weight of law.

For a document to be a "Compliance document", it must have some legal position or authority to be considered as such. 

AS3788, simply put, doesn't have that.

It is not referred to in the legislation, namely the Workplace Safety and Health Act, nor is it directly referred to or inferred from the accompanying Regulations.

So what does pressure equipment require to be considered compliant?

Compliance is made up of a few steps.

First, an item of pressure equipment must be designed to an established design standard. 

Once that design is complete, be it to an Australian Standard like AS1210 or an American code like ASME Section VIII Divisi 1, it must be verified by an independent 3rd party. 

This person is known as a Design Verifier. They generally are employed by a certification house or other authorised organisation.

The Design Verifier will verify the design calculations and once satisfied that they are correct and meet the requirements of the design code or standard, will issue a Statement of Design Verification, that is then used for Design Registration.

Once the Design has been verified and the statement issued, the Owner/User is required to apply for a Design Registration for pressure equipment of Hazard Levels A, B, C or D, as calculated by either of the methods prescribed in AS4343, as per the requirements of Schedule 5.1 of the Regulations.

Along with the Application for Design Registration, the Owner/User MUST submit all the relevant design documents, including the General Arrangement Drawing of the equipment and the Statement of Design Verification to the appropriate Regulatory Authority, such as WorkSafe.

Once the prescribed fee and a suitable application is made and confirmed, a Certificate of Design Registration will be issued under the Regulatory Authorities seal.

Pressure equipment of Hazard Levels A, B or C are additionally required to be Plant Registered with a Regulatory Authority as per the requirements of Schedule 5.2 of the Regulations.

An item of pressure equipment requiring Plant Registration must also have Design Registration.

Operators have a duty of care to ensure that their assets remain in a safe and suitable condition in order to minimise the risk of health or safety risks to personnel and the environment.

One of the ways to demonstrate compliance is via regular inspections of plant assets to ensure their ongoing integrity and suitability for continued service.