News and stories

Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) registrants must register their household refrigerator or refrigerated cabinet under the correct GEMS determination.

The GEMS Regulator administers the GEMS program and all GEMS determinations, including the determinations for household refrigerators and commercial refrigerated cabinets. Registrants must apply to have their products registered under the scheme.

‘Household refrigerating appliances’ products are covered by the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Household Refrigerating Appliances) Determination 2019 (“the HRA Determination”). Product classes are set out in section 7 of the determination, irrespective of the context in which they are used. This means that the HRA Determination applies to household refrigerating appliances used in a commercial context.

To be clear a product is a ‘household refrigerating appliance’ if it satisfies the definition of ‘household refrigerating appliance’ in section 4 of the HRA Determination. The definition requires, among other things, that the appliance is “ordinarily supplied for household use”.

‘Refrigerated cabinets’ are covered by the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Refrigerated Cabinets) Determination 2020 (“the RC Determination”). Products covered by this determination include refrigerated display cabinets, refrigerated drinks cabinets, refrigerated storage cabinets, ice cream freezer cabinets, and scooping cabinets. Product classes covered by the RC Determination are set out in Schedule 1 of the determination. The RC Determination does not cover products that are covered by the HRA Determination.

To be clear, a product is a ‘refrigerated display cabinet’ under the RC Determination if:

• it is not a household refrigerating appliance under the HRA Determination, either because it is “not ordinarily supplied for household use”, or it otherwise does not fall within the definition of household refrigerating appliance in section 4 of the HRA Determination; and
• it satisfies the definition of ‘refrigerated cabinet’ in section 6 of the RC Determination; and
• it satisfies the definition of ‘refrigerated display cabinet’ in section 8 of the RC Determination. This definition requires, among other things, that the cabinet is “designed for storage and display of, and access by consumers to, chilled or frozen items contained in the cabinet in a retail environment”.

A product is a ‘refrigerated display cabinet’ if it satisfies the definition in section 6, regardless of the environment in which it is used. This means the RC Determination applies to refrigerated display cabinets used in a domestic context.

If you need more information or help to register your ‘household refrigerating appliance’ or ‘refrigerator cabinet’, you can contact us.