AMCA Lodges National Licensing Submission to AMR/MR Review

13 June 2026

Our submission pushes national licensing for trades as the appropriate reform pathway, starting with Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC).

AMCA has submitted a formal response to the National Competition Council's interim report on the Review of Australia's Mutual Recognition (MR) and Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) schemes. The submission puts a clear position: strengthening AMR alone will not fix the underlying problem facing HVAC contractors, and the final report should recommend national licensing for trades as the appropriate reform pathway, starting with Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC).

The interim report correctly identifies that fragmentation and inconsistency across state licensing frameworks are the core issues. AMCA's submission agrees, but argues that the Council's proposed focus on improving the AMR mechanism treats symptoms rather than causes. Where licensing frameworks differ materially between jurisdictions, mutual recognition cannot function as intended, regardless of how the notification and equivalence processes are improved.

The full submission is available to members here.