Warranties, and where the ACDA Guarantee sits

The three protections on a new system

A new home air conditioner comes with three separate protections, from three different places. When something goes wrong, the first question is which one applies.

• The manufacturer's warranty covers the equipment: the units, the controls and the parts inside them. The maker sets the term.
• The installer's workmanship warranty covers the work: pipework, drainage, wiring, ductwork, mounting and set-up. The installer sets the term, and an accredited member must state it on the written quote.
• Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply whatever the paperwork says.

If your installer is an accredited member there is a fourth protection, the ACDA Guarantee. It is a written workmanship guarantee that sits alongside the other three rather than replacing any of them.

The manufacturer's warranty on the equipment

The manufacturer's warranty covers faults in the equipment itself. The maker sets the term, so check it for the exact equipment on your quote.

Manufacturers commonly make the warranty conditional on correct installation and on servicing at the intervals they recommend. If you cannot show either, a claim may be declined, so keep the quote, the invoice and every service record together.

The ACDA Standards require an accredited member's written quote to state the warranty period and the recommended servicing frequency. If either is missing, ask for it. You are entitled to it.

If a part fails, the claim goes to the manufacturer, not to ACDA. Your accredited member can help you lodge it.

The installer's workmanship warranty

The installer's workmanship warranty covers the work rather than the equipment. Examples are a pipe joint that leaks, a drain that overflows or a duct that was never sealed.

The installer sets the term, and the ACDA Standards require an accredited member to state the warranty period on the written quote. Read it before you sign, and make sure it is written down rather than promised over the phone.

A workmanship warranty needs a business behind it that can come back and fix the work. The Standards require every accredited member to run a back-up service department, and the member that quoted, designed and installed your system is the one that services it. Keep the quote and the invoice, because the dispute process asks for both.

Australian Consumer Law guarantees

Underneath both written warranties sit the consumer guarantees in Australian Consumer Law. They apply whether or not a business mentions them.

In broad terms, the equipment should do what it is sold to do and the installation should be done properly. If not, you have rights under the law, separate from anything the manufacturer or installer put in writing.

This guide does not go into how those rights work in a particular case, and ACDA is an industry association, not a regulator. The ACDA Guarantee applies in addition to your rights under Australian Consumer Law, not instead of them.

Where the ACDA Guarantee sits

The ACDA Guarantee only exists if your installer is an accredited member. If an accredited member's new domestic installation falls short of the ACDA Standards, ACDA engages an independent Chartered Engineer to investigate, report and advise you of any defects or shortcomings, and arranges for them to be corrected.

It is a written workmanship guarantee. It covers new domestic installations by an accredited member, on contracts up to $25,000 including GST. It is not an equipment warranty, which stays with the manufacturer, and it is not a price guarantee. It does not cover work by a business that is not a current member or a contract above $25,000 including GST, and because it covers new installations only, a repair or service on an existing system is outside it.

Your workmanship warranty is a promise from the installer. The Guarantee adds a Chartered Engineer who is not the installer to investigate and report on whether the work meets the Standards. It is the association's own written commitment, not a government scheme.

How to raise a dispute in three steps

If you have a concern about work by an accredited member, raise it with the member first if you can. If that does not resolve it, ACDA's process is three steps.

1. Complete the Dispute Resolution Form. Your details, the member's details, what was installed and when, and what the problem is. The form is in the dispute resolution section of the ACDA Standard page.
2. Attach your documents. Copies of your quote, your invoice and anything else relevant, such as photographs.
3. Send it to the Dispute Resolution Committee. Post to Air Conditioning Dealers Association Inc, PO Box 253, Emu Plains NSW 2750, or email [email protected].

Every member answers to the Dispute Resolution Committee for as long as it holds accreditation.

Before you write, check that the installer is a current member on the verify a member page, that the work was a new domestic installation on a contract up to $25,000 including GST, and that the problem is workmanship rather than equipment. Equipment faults go to the manufacturer, and your member can help you lodge that claim.

Before you sign, and what to keep

• Workmanship warranty period stated on the quote, in writing.
• Equipment manufacturer and system details on the quote, so you can check the manufacturer's warranty term.
• Recommended servicing frequency stated on the quote.
• Installer confirmed as a current accredited member on the verify a member page.
• Contract total, including GST, noted against the $25,000 Guarantee limit.
• Quote, invoice and warranty paperwork kept together in one place.
• Every service recorded, with the date and who did it.

Every accredited member's quote must state the warranty period, and the ACDA Guarantee covers the workmanship on new domestic installations by an accredited member, on contracts up to $25,000 including GST. Check the installer is a current member before you sign.