One of the changes in this year’s government budget is a reduction in the number of industry sectors which qualify for the use of red diesel (which carries a tax rebate). One of the industries affected by this change is the automatic fire sprinkler industry as red diesel is currently used to power diesel fire pumps.

This change will increase the costs for sprinkler service and maintenance of diesel fire pumps as the pump must be tested by running it every week. We see this change is a backwards move and could possibly encourage building owners to forego these important tests to save money, a sprinkler systems fire pump performs an incredibly important role in protecting life and property.

This change comes into effect from April 2022, the full government reform can be viewed here.