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On 3 March 2025, the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) Commercial Ice-makers Determination 2025 was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. This follows an agreement by the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council to regulate these appliances for their energy efficiency in January 2024.

The determination introduces minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for commercial ice-makers. The decision was made to regulate ice-makers after identifying that their energy and water use is significantly higher than it should be. Introducing MEPS will increase the:

• energy efficiency of ice-makers supplied in Australia 
• help business save energy, reduce their operating costs, and reduce greenhouse emissions.

Commercial ice-maker models that meet the new requirements must be registered by 3 March 2026. Suppliers should determine if their models meet the requirements in the determination and register in scope models using the Energy Rating Product Registration system.

Register an account to use the new registration form that is available now.

Retailers will need to display a GEMS registration number for registered commercial ice-makers when selling or advertising these appliances instore, online or print.

Once commercial ice-maker models are registered by suppliers, data on their performance will be available in the Energy Rating Registration Database. The database allows users of these appliances, such as hospitality businesses, to identify energy-efficient models that would reduce their energy bills.

More information will be available on our website soon.