People often use liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for heating or cooking – in the home, for barbecues, or even when tramping or camping. But LPG can be dangerous: it needs to be handled with care.

Call:

111 in an emergency
Healthline on 0800 611 116 for medical advice
National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766 for poisons advice

LPG is butane, propane, or a mixture of these two fuels. You can buy LPG in cylinders at the garage or a hardware store. Some people use larger cylinders of LPG for cooking or heating in their homes. You can also buy smaller LPG canisters from outdoors stores for tramping or camping.

Always get your LPG cylinders and canisters filled or swapped by a reputable supplier, and contact your local council to find out the best way to dispose of old, used cylinders and canisters.

Understand the hazards

  • LPG ignites and burns easily.
  • If it leaks, it can ignite and sometimes explode.
  • It is stored under pressure in canisters and cylinders.
  • LPG appliances can give off carbon monoxide if they are not burning properly, so make sure your LPG appliances are working properly and get them serviced regularly.
  • ‘Huffing’ or breathing LPG in intentionally can make you sick or even kill you.

If you think someone is unwell or injured from exposure to LPG or carbon monoxide, call 111 immediately.

For more information, see the Safe living with gas webpage on the WorkSafe New Zealand website

Storing LPG safely and legally Plus

The rules for storing LPG depend on how much you plan to store and where you want to store it.

Find out more in our factsheet:

Storing LPG at home and other places outside of work factsheet (PDF, 472KB)
Information for LPG suppliers Plus

Before you deliver LPG to any place that is not a workplace, you need to take reasonable steps to ensure that the LPG you are delivering is safe for use, is labelled correctly, and will be kept in a secure site. You also need to make sure the site is compliant:

  • If you are delivering to a site that holds between 100 kg and 300 kg of LPG, the site must have a valid compliance plaque fixed in a prominent place on the site before you can deliver the LPG. If there is no valid compliance plaque, you will need to carry out a compliance check and issue a compliance plaque before you can deliver there. 
  • If you are delivering to a site that holds more than 300 kg of LPG, the site must have a HSNO certificate before you can deliver the LPG.

For more information, see the Delivering LPG cylinders webpage on the WorkSafe New Zealand website.
Information for LPG compliance certifiers approved to certify non-workplace, fixed-LPG installations Plus

These rules have been in place since 1 December 2017.

For non-workplaces containing 100–300 kg LPG

  • A HSNO certificate is not required.
  • These sites must have a compliance plaque issued by the gas supplier and fixed in a prominent position on the site.

For non-workplaces containing more than 300 kg LPG

  • These sites must have a HSNO certificate.
  • The certificate must be issued by a HSW compliance certifier.  
  • These certificates are issued under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996 (not the Health and Safety at Work Act). They should include a statement similar to:

“This certificate has been issued in accordance with section 82(a) of the HSNO Act 1996. It certifies that the relevant requirements have been met for the location and substance as required by clause 28 of the EPA Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Property Controls) Notice 2017.”

Registering certificates and plaques

Don't add non-workplaces HSNO certificates to the WorkSafe Compliance Certificate Register. We keep a separate register at the EPA for these non-workplace certificates. So, please just email a copy of the certificate to us at: hscompliance@epa.govt.nz 

The certificate must include:

  • a unique certificate number
  • the name and approval number of the compliance certifier
  • the amount of LPG at the installation (in kg)
  • the street address where the LPG is installed
  • the date when the certificate was issued
  • the certificate expiry date.
Information for enforcement agencies for LPG compliance Plus

Territorial authorities with enforcement roles must make sure that any LPG installation in a non-workplace is lawful.

  • All installations at non-workplaces must comply with clauses 26–28 of the Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Properties Controls) Notice 2017.
  • Sites containing 100–300 kg of LPG must have a valid compliance plaque installed in a prominent position.
  • Sites containing more than 300 kg of LPG must have a valid HSNO certificate.

Read our Consolidated Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Properties Controls) Notice 2017 (PDF, 1.1MB) 
Any questions? We’re here to help Plus

Contact our Hazardous Substances Compliance team by email at: hscompliance@epa.govt.nz

Freephone (within New Zealand): 0800 2255 372 (0800 CALL EPA)

For more information, see:
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