LPG at home and outside of work
This page has information about storing liquid petroleum gas (LPG) safely in your home and other places outside of work, as well as information for LPG professionals working in homes and public places.
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This page has information about storing liquid petroleum gas (LPG) safely in your home and other places outside of work, as well as information for LPG professionals working in homes and public places.
LPG is the gas that many people use for barbeques and heaters. It is butane, propane or a mixture of these two fuels. You can buy LPG in cylinders at the garage or DIY store. Some people have larger cylinders delivered for cooking or heating their homes. You can also buy smaller canisters for tramping or camping.
If you suspect someone is unwell or injured from exposure to LPG or carbon monoxide, call 111 immediately.
For more information about living safely with gas, see the WorkSafe New Zealand website
The rules for storing LPG depend on how much gas you plan to store and where.
Find out more in our factsheet:
Storing LPG at home and other places outside of work factsheet (pdf 472kb)
Before you deliver LPG to a home or other place that is not a workplace, you need to make sure the site is compliant. You also need to take reasonable steps to ensure that the LPG cylinders you are delivering are safe for use, labelled correctly and will be located in a secure site.
For more information, see the guidance on the WorkSafe New Zealand website: Delivering LPG Cylinders
The section is for HSW compliance certifiers who are approved to certify fixed-LPG installations. Here we explain the rules for certifying non-workplaces storing LPG. These rules have been in place since 1 December 2017.
A ‘HSNO certificate’ is not required. These sites are covered by a compliance plaque which is issued by the gas supplier and fixed in a prominent position on the site.
These sites must have a HSNO certificate issued by a HSW compliance certifier. These certificates are issued under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act (not the Health and Safety at Work Act), and 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”.
You should not enter certificates issued to non-workplaces into the WorkSafe Compliance Certificate Register. We keep a separate register at the EPA of HSNO certificates that are issued to non-workplaces. Instead, please email a copy of the certificate to us at: hscompliance@epa.govt.nz.
The certificate must contain:
The guidance in this section is intended for territorial authorities with enforcement roles to ensure that LPG installations in non-workplaces are lawful.
Read the Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Properties Controls) Notice 2017 (pdf 1.1MB)
Contact our Hazardous Substances Compliance team by email at hscompliance@epa.govt.nz
Freephone (within New Zealand): 0800 2255 372 (0800 CALL EPA)
If you have more than 100 kilograms of LPG at home, or you are a business or farm, read these rules.
More information about staying safe with LPG.
Some general tips on handling hazardous substances in the home.
Handling petrol safe in your home.