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After an 18-month phase-in period, AS/CA S009:2020 is now mandated for registered cablers and telecommunication workers. Kevin Fothergill looks at what this means for those on the tools.

Almost all Australian industries have technical or industry standards. Telecommunications has one of critical importance to customer equipment and cabling and it is mandated by the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA).

If breaches occur, there is a risk of severe penalties from the regulator, ACMA, and from litigation that could arise if there is an alarm failure, for example, resulting in harm or loss of property.

Probably the most important standard cablers should be aware of is what is commonly known as AS/CA S009:2020 Installation requirements for customer cabling (Wiring Rules) or just ACMA Wiring Rules or S009. This Australian Standard came into full effect on 29 February 2022 when the 18 months phase-in period expired.

Accordingly, all ACMA Cabling Provider Rules (CPR) registered cablers must comply with the changes – CPR registration is mandatory – when working on communications customer cabling and equipment. CPR registration and compliance with standards are mandatory, regardless of whether you are a telecommunications technician, data cabler or electrician.

Probably the most significant revised section is on heat rise with remote power/Power over Ethernet (PoE) and associated personnel and property safety risks, particularly in legacy cabling that may have been installed long before any consideration was given to remote powering.

The key changes to the previous 2013 edition have been notified in Cabler Registrar newsletters, mainly based on analysis by BICSI’s Paul Stathis.

All cablers should have access to the revised standard which is available widely from a registrar website, Comms Alliance and Standards Australia.  Some of the changes are summarised below:

• New Electrical Energy Source classifications ES1, ES2 and ES3 and how these impact telecommunications circuits and particularly on remote power, PoE, power over HDbaseT (PoH) and there are new requirements for conductor sizes linked to temperature recommendations for generic cabling and cabling linked distributor circuits.
• Updated separation and subducting of hazardous service requirements; revised requirements for protection against contact with live parts of sockets and the appendices have been rewritten to address power feeding in telecommunications networks and ES3 separation of telecommunications and electrical circuits.
• New guidance and definitions on NBN Interconnections including fibre, HFC and fixed wireless network boundaries; “generic cabling”, “movable cabling”, “types of persons”, “registered engineers” and “RFT circuits”; new requirements for cabling, including flexibility and strain relief; updated optical fibre requirements; new movable and dependent telecommunications outlet (TO) requirements; revised cable flammability and fire stopping requirements.
• Cable flammability and fire-stopping requirements are of major significance given the industry’s move towards PoE/remote powering and the intention is to better align with the National Construction Code of Australia.
• Other significant updates apply to cabling between buildings; pit and access holes and for installing an earthing bar/terminal at distributors terminating outdoor customer cabling.

TITAB Australia and other registrars have published in their newsletters a more detailed analysis of the wiring rules changes developed by Paul Stathis for industry distribution and also the ACMA formal advice of the expiry of the transition period and formal date of effect of 29 February 2022.

All technical standards have review dates and already there is work being undertaken by committees looking at industry developments.  The key advice given by registrars and the ACMA is to access a copy of the new standard which is readily downloadable and that in the long run, compliance is really protection against future risk to the customers, users, cablers and the business model.