TfA Project Group Industry Note – August 2017

AS1940:2017 Now Released

The New Version of AS1940:2017 The Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids has
now been released and is in force. In this Industry Note, we build on the back of our previous update in July
highlighting some of the more significant changes under AS1940:2017 to different types of development in
the fuel industry.

Unmanned Refuelling Facilities / Above-ground Storage

The last few years have seen a considerable increase in the development of unmanned truck refuelling facilities
across remote and regional Australia.

Traditionally, these facilities involve above-ground diesel storage in double-walled tanks often with the
dispensers fitted to the front of the tank. More recently, TfA has been involved in the design of numerous
facilities which seek to incorporate flammable liquid storage, often in the form of a smaller above-ground
unleaded petrol tank which may include bulk load-out to fuel delivery trucks servicing a particular region.

TfA has conducted an initial review of the final version of AS1940:2017 and one of the more notable impacts
for refuelling facilities storing above-ground flammable liquids is the potential requirement to provide a fire
hydrant system on-site. The table below provides a brief snap-shot of potential requirements.

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 TfA Project Group Industry Note – August 2017

Above-ground Tank Size Fire Hydrant System

Flammable Tank
Under 30,000L 1 x 10L/sec fire hydrant
Between 30,000 and 60,000L 1 x 20L/sec fire hydrant
Non-Fire Rated Above 60,000L or where within 15m of separate Full ring main fire hydrant system
above-ground combustible liquid storage and with foam making facilities.
the total exceeds 60,000L
No additional fire protection
Fire Rated N/A additional to that otherwise
required for the site.
Note: a fire rated above-ground flammable tank must have an FRL of 240/240/240 and comply with UL2085 or
be approved by UL or FM to the equivalent US fire rating.

The Importance of Compliant and Accredited Design

Introducing above-ground flammable storage introduces a greater level of risk to be managed on-site. The risk
however can be more effectively mitigated through compliance with AS1940:2017. This reinforces the
importance of designing and locating above-ground tanks in accordance with AS1940 and in ensuring the
related fuel system design is appropriately accredited by a full member of the AIDGC and a registered RPEQ
engineer when located within Queensland.

With over 20 years in both fuel system design and the related site layout design of fuel facilities, we pride
ourselves in not only being across the changing landscape of AS1940 compliance but also in offering our clients
the appropriate RPEQ and full AIDGC accreditation in signing off compliant fuel system design. The latter, we
observe is frequently undertaken by other design consultants without appropriate engineering qualifications
or full accreditation. Particularly on an unmanned site, this introduces additional risk and liability to the owner
and fuel operator which they may not be aware of. In our experience, a compliant and accredited design not
only assists in meeting obligations under the WHS Act 2011 in the event of an on-site incident / site audit but
also with due diligence during the sale of a facility.

For a full list of the changes, or to discuss how the changes will affect your next fuel storage project,
please contact TfA Project Group today.

Telephone – 1300 794 300

Email – enquiry@tfa.com.au

Website - www.tfa.com.au

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