If you smell gas
Energy Safe Victoria's steps: turn the gas off at the meter, or at the cylinder for LP gas, but only if it's safe to. Put out any flames and don't smoke. Leave electrical switches and devices alone. Open doors and windows and keep people away. Then ring the emergency number on your gas bill, which for mains gas is your distributor, or 000 if there's a fire.
Gas heating in Melbourne homes
Most homes are on gas
83% of Victorian households are connected to mains gas, Environment Victoria and Renew report, and three quarters of the gas used in Victorian homes goes on space heating.
Every type needs the check
Ducted heater, wall furnace, space heater or decorative log fire, Energy Safe Victoria says any gas heater can spill carbon monoxide, old or new. It has no smell, which is why the service matters more than how warm the room gets.
Open-flued heaters
Since 1 August 2022, Victoria has banned the sale of new and second-hand open-flued gas heaters that can't shut down automatically. Energy Safe Victoria says open-flued heaters spill carbon monoxide more easily than other types. If you still have one, keep its service strictly on time.
Renovated and sealed-up homes
Energy Safe Victoria warns that renovating or weather-sealing a home can change the ventilation needed to clear carbon monoxide. If you've put in new windows or sealed draughts since the last service, tell the gasfitter.
Renting
From 13 October 2026, every Victorian rental with gas appliances needs a gas safety check every two years, done by a licensed or registered gasfitter.
Book a gasfitter now, not next winter, if
- The flame burns yellow or sooty, and it isn't a decorative log fire.
- The pilot light keeps going out, or pops and bangs as it lights.
- You can see soot stains on the wall above or around the heater.
- People or pets in the house feel sick at the same time, or you only feel unwell at home.
- It's an open-flued Regency i31, Regency F38/FG38 (excluding LP models), Nectre 2000 or Real Flame Pyrotech. Energy Safe Victoria says not to use these until a qualified gasfitter has tested them.
- It's an unflued heater more than 10 years old. Better Health advises replacing those.
Heating repairs: fix it or replace it?
A repair makes sense when the heater is otherwise sound and the gasfitter can find what's wrong. An unflued heater past 10 years, or an open-flued heater that keeps giving trouble, is a different case, and replacing it is the safer path.
Owner occupiers can replace gas with gas: DEECA says there's no requirement to move existing space heating to electric. If you'd rather switch, a reverse cycle split heats and cools, and VEU's air conditioner categories can cover it, which they never do for a gas heater. Our page on wall furnaces and space heaters and the national gas heater service page go further.
Yours to do, and the gasfitter's
You can
- Keep furniture, curtains and drying clothes clear of the front of the heater.
- Fit a carbon monoxide alarm as a back-up. Energy Safe Victoria says it's never a substitute for servicing.
- Never bring an outdoor patio heater inside.
- Keep the last service record where you'll find it next time.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Anything behind the heater's cover.
- The burner, the flue and the gas controls.
- Testing for carbon monoxide spillage.
- Deciding whether the heater is safe to keep using.
Questions for the gasfitter
- Can I see your gasfitter licence number? Energy Safe Victoria suggests checking it online.
- Is this heater flued, open-flued or unflued, and does that change how often you'd service it?
- Will you test for carbon monoxide spillage and write the result down?
- Is anything you found a safety issue, or ordinary wear?
What we'd do
What we'd book, and when
We'd book the service in autumn every second year, and straight away for an overdue open-flued heater or any heater whose flame has changed. We'd keep a carbon monoxide alarm nearby, the exhaust fans off while it runs, and the result in writing, from a gas heating specialist who works on heaters like ours all winter. An unflued heater past 10 years, we'd replace rather than service.
