New peak body for Australia and NZ water heating industry developed with Ai Group support

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The Australian Industry Group has applauded today's launch of a new peak body representing the water heating industry in Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian & New Zealand Water Heating Association (ANZWHA) is the successor to the Australian Water Heating Forum (AWHF), a managed forum created in 2018 under the auspices of Ai Group.

ANZWHA is made up of manufacturers and suppliers of water heating systems including Rheem, Rinnai, Dux, Stiebel Eltron, Reclaim Energy, Chromagen and Bosch. These companies provide electric, gas, solar and heat pump technologies used in both residential and commercial settings.

James Thomson, Lead - Standards and Product Regulation at Ai Group, said: "AWHF was formed by Ai Group more than six years ago to give the industry sector a unified voice at a time when the sector was very fragmented.

"We are pleased to have been involved in establishing AWHF and look forward to working with ANZWHA going forward."

Mr Thomson said the idea to form AWHF was conceived over a coffee between himself and Gareth Jennings, formerly General Manager - Corporate Affairs of Rheem.

"Gareth went on to become the first chair of AWHF and was fond of describing regulatory challenges with expressions like 'we are trying to boil the ocean' and 'getting angels to dance on a pin head'," Mr Thomson said.

Some of AWHF's recent work, in conjunction with Ai Group, has included contributing to the development of the Energy Efficiency Council's Heat Pump Hot Water System Roadmap, designing a test method for a heat pump minimum energy performance standard (collaborating with AREMA and Standards Australia) and advocating to government to address unintended consumer harms caused by overlapping incentive schemes

Ben Teeger, the inaugural President of ANZWHA and outgoing Chair of AWHF, has heralded today's launch as coming at a critical time on both sides of the Tasman, given the ongoing cost of living crisis, energy transition and increased regulation.

"Water heating is a basic necessity for every household and is critical to the health, safety, amenity and livelihood of consumers and businesses alike", Mr Teeger said.

ANZWHA said it acknowledged the dedicated support provided by Ai Group in its stewardship of the AWHF leading up to today's announcement.