University & TAFE Workshop and Engineering Lab HVAC Duct Guide — Australia

Why tertiary workshops and engineering labs need their own ductwork rulebook

Tertiary education buildings are not K-12 schools. A senior university or a large TAFE campus packs more ventilation complexity into one floorplate than a typical hospital tower: lecture theatres for 500 students, undergraduate chemistry teaching benches, postgraduate research wet-labs, CNC machining workshops, welding bays where ten students strike an arc at once, automotive trade lab pits with engines running, electronics labs full of static-sensitive boards, and the occasional radioactive-tracer suite in the basement. Each of those spaces sits under a different combination of Australian Standards, ASHRAE chapters, fire codes and university-specific design guides — and they often share the same building shell.

This guide is the playbook our SBKJ engineers walk through with consulting engineers and ducting contractors when they tender on Australian tertiary projects. We have supplied galvanised and stainless duct-manufacturing equipment to ducting contractors who have fabricated work for almost every Group of Eight university and most of the major TAFE institutes. The codes below are not theoretical. They are the ones the certifier checks against on the day the building hits practical completion.

If you are designing or building one of these projects in 2026, the order of reading is: identify the lab class, look up the code-driven air rate, apply the material rule, design the local capture, commission for face velocity, document for the building surveyor. The rest of this guide is the long version of that loop.

The Australian regulatory stack — the codes you are actually compliant against

The temptation in tertiary HVAC is to design to ASHRAE and bolt on a few Australian Standards at the end. That is the wrong direction. The certifier in Australia ultimately signs against AS 1668 and the relevant AS/NZS series. ASHRAE is informative, not mandatory. The actual stack on a 2026 Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide tertiary project looks like this:

• AS 1668.2 — The use of ventilation and airconditioning in buildings — Mechanical ventilation in buildings. Sets the outdoor air rate for teaching laboratories at 7.5 to 10 L/s per person, depending on the occupancy and contaminant load. AS 1668.2 also sets the exhaust rate from kitchens, plant rooms and high-occupancy spaces, and is the controlling code for makeup air to fume-cupboard rooms.
• AS/NZS 2243 series — Safety in laboratories. Eight parts cover everything from general planning (Part 1) through chemistry (Part 2), microbiological containment from PC1 to PC4 (Part 3), ionising radiation (Part 4), non-ionising radiation (Part 5), mechanical equipment (Part 6), pharmaceutical and biotech (Part 7), fume cupboards (Part 8) and radionuclide laboratories (Part 9). For a university teaching lab, Parts 1, 2, 3 and 8 are usually the controlling parts.
• AS/NZS 2243.3 — Microbiological safety and containment. Defines PC1, PC2, PC3 and PC4 physical containment levels. A standard university teaching biology lab is PC1. Some second- and third-year teaching labs run small-scale PC2 work (e.g. handling E. coli K-12 strains). PC3 is generally restricted to research, not teaching.
• AS/NZS 2243.8 — Fume cupboards. Mandates 0.5 m/s ± 0.1 m/s face velocity, sash height limits, alarm requirements, dedicated exhaust (no recirculation), and annual containment testing. This is the single most-cited standard in any university chemistry or fume-cupboard teaching lab.
• AS/NZS 2243.9 — Radioactive materials. Required for any teaching or research space that uses unsealed radionuclides — common in second-year biochemistry, radiation chemistry and nuclear physics teaching laboratories. Exhaust must be dedicated, monitored, and discharge through a stack high enough to disperse below derived exposure limits.
• AS 4024 — Safety of machinery. Sets guarding, interlock and emergency-stop requirements for any powered machine in a workshop. Applies to CNC machines, lathes, mills, drill presses, sheet-metal brakes and welding bays. AS 4024 does not directly control ductwork, but the local exhaust ventilation tied to a guarded machine must remain functional with the guards engaged.
• AS 3853 — Health and safety in welding and allied processes. Defines welding fume classes W1, W2 and W3 by hazard. W3 (hexavalent chromium, stainless TIG, aluminium with manganese) requires source extraction directly at the torch with capture velocity at the fume source — the welding bay general dilution alone is not compliant.
• AS/NZS 5149 — Refrigerating systems and heat pumps — Safety and environmental requirements. Controls automotive trade lab refrigerant handling (R-134a, R-1234yf, R-744 CO2 systems) and machine room ventilation. Refrigerant detectors and emergency ventilation interlocks are mandatory above the prescribed charge limit.
• NFPA 45 — Fire protection for laboratories using chemicals. The international benchmark cited in most Australian university design guides as a supplement to AS 1668 and AS/NZS 2243. NFPA 45 classifies labs by flammable-liquid quantity (A, B, C, D), and sets fire-resistance, sprinkler and ventilation interaction requirements that go beyond the AS 1668 minimum.
• ASHRAE Applications Handbook Chapter 7 — Educational Facilities and Chapter 16 — Laboratories. The two most commonly cited international references in Australian university design guides. Chapter 16 covers lab ventilation strategy (once-through air, no recirculation, supply diffuser placement, exhaust manifolds, energy recovery), and Chapter 7 covers lecture theatre, classroom and library design. Together they backstop the AS 1668.2 minimum with practical design wisdom.
• National Construction Code (NCC) Volume One. Class 9b (assembly buildings — university lecture theatres) and Class 9a (where labs are in a health-related faculty) trigger NCC Part F4 ventilation requirements, which point straight back to AS 1668.

A tertiary ductwork specification that does not cite at least AS 1668.2, AS/NZS 2243.8 and ASHRAE Chapter 16 by clause number will lose marks on a peer review. A specification that cites all three but misses AS 3853 in the welding bay or AS/NZS 5149 in the automotive trade lab is the more common — and more dangerous — failure mode.

Space-by-space: the seven workshop and lab types you will encounter

Every tertiary capital works project we touch comes back to the same seven space types. The codes above apply differently to each. Here is the engineering shorthand.

1. Mechanical workshop (CNC, lathes, sheet metal, welding bay)

The mechanical workshop is the most contaminant-diverse space on the floor: oil mist from CNC coolant, chip dust from milling, metal grinding particulates, welding fume, cutting-oil aerosol and the occasional cutting-fluid spill. The ventilation strategy is layered:

• General dilution: 6 to 8 air changes per hour with supply at low velocity through the ceiling and exhaust through a high-level wall or roof grille downstream of all process equipment. Avoid blowing supply air across welding arcs or CNC coolant nozzles — it disperses contaminant.
• Local exhaust ventilation (LEV): source extraction at each welding station per AS 3853. Flexible arms with hood-mounted dampers are the most common solution because students rotate stations and the arms are easy to position. Downdraft tables suit grinding and small-parts welding. Canopy hoods over CNC machining centres capture coolant aerosol and chip-flying paths.
• Filtration: MERV 14 or higher on the welding-fume return path, with cartridge or HEPA stages on the W3 hazard streams. Coolant aerosol streams should pass through an electrostatic precipitator or oil-mist coalescer before discharge.
• Acoustics: NC-50 is the target. Workshop machinery makes more noise than the HVAC ever will, but supply velocity above 5 m/s in the workshop main duct generates regenerated noise that distracts instructors.
• Materials: galvanised mild steel is acceptable for the supply ductwork and for the general workshop return. The welding-fume LEV trunk should be galvanised for W1 and W2 and 304 stainless for W3.

2. Electronics lab (ESD-controlled, soldering)

An electronics lab looks tame compared to the welding bay but its environmental tolerances are much tighter. Static-sensitive components fail or degrade at relative humidity below 30 percent. Soldering produces flux fume that needs local extraction. PCB cleaning sometimes involves IPA or other volatiles.

• Temperature: 22 to 24 degrees Celsius dry-bulb with ± 1 K control.
• Humidity: 40 to 60 percent relative humidity, ± 5 percentage points. Winter humidification (steam injection or isothermal cold-water humidifier) is essential in Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide where outdoor dewpoints fall below freezing.
• Air changes: 4 to 6 ACH general, with point extraction at each soldering bench (small fume-arm extractors with carbon filtration).
• Filtration: MERV 13 minimum on the supply to prevent particulate fouling of fine-pitch boards.
• Materials: galvanised supply and return. Avoid bare aluminium internally as it can shed particulate.
• Acoustics: NC-35 to NC-40. Electronics work involves audio measurement and close reading.

3. CNC machining centre and CNC programming room

The CNC space sits between the workshop and the electronics lab in terms of fitout — the machines need workshop-grade ventilation, but the programming and inspection stations need cleaner air.

• Machining bay: 6 to 8 ACH, downdraft tables on benchtop CNC, canopy or side-draft hoods over knee mills and turning centres, MERV 14 filtration on the return path.
• Programming and CMM inspection room: separate from the machining bay. 22 to 24 degrees, 45 to 55 percent RH for dimensional stability of CMM scales, MERV 13 supply.
• Coolant aerosol: oil-mist coalescer or electrostatic precipitator before discharge. Some campuses run a closed-loop coolant recovery system because of trade-waste discharge limits in the local water authority licence.

4. Welding bay (TIG, MIG, MMA, oxy-fuel)

The welding bay is the most heavily code-driven space in the workshop. AS 3853 sets the welding-fume hazard classes:

• W1 — mild steel, low-alloy steel. Source extraction recommended; can be met with flexible arms.
• W2 — galvanised, painted, coated steels. Source extraction required at the arc, plus general dilution.
• W3 — stainless (hexavalent chromium), aluminium with manganese, hardfacing. Source extraction is mandatory directly at the arc, capture velocity must be verified, and the extracted air cannot recirculate into the workshop.

The duct configuration in a TAFE welding bay is therefore not optional. Each welding station has a flexible-arm extractor mounted overhead, with the trunks running to a central cartridge filter on the workshop roof. The trunks themselves are 304 stainless on W3 streams (resistant to the corrosive hexavalent chromium dust and easily wet-cleanable on the annual service), and galvanised on W1/W2. Capture velocity at the fume plume is 0.5 m/s minimum, measured 300 mm from the arc.

Additional considerations: weld curtains do not eliminate fume — they only stop arc flash to bystanders. Argon and shielding-gas storage rooms need their own AS/NZS 1596 LP gas-style ventilation (mechanical exhaust at low level for argon, which is heavier than air). Plasma cutting produces additional ozone and NOx which add to the W2/W3 hazard.

5. Automotive trade lab (mechanic training, refrigeration, light vehicle)

TAFE automotive trade labs are full-scale vehicle bays. Students run engines, charge refrigerant, work on brake systems and disassemble transmissions. The ventilation design has three pillars:

• Tailpipe exhaust extraction: overhead reels with magnetic or rubber tailpipe couplers, drawing CO and unburned hydrocarbons directly from the exhaust pipe of any engine under test. In-floor systems exist but are more common in dealership service centres than TAFE bays. The captured exhaust runs through 200 to 300 mm diameter flexible duct to a central fan and discharges through the roof.
• Refrigerant ventilation per AS/NZS 5149: the AS 4575 refrigeration training stream requires students to handle R-134a, R-1234yf and increasingly R-744 (CO2) automotive systems. Refrigerant detectors (electrochemical or NDIR) interlock with emergency ventilation fans, and the bay layout must keep refrigerant cylinders away from low-level confined spaces.
• CO monitoring: Australian OEL for carbon monoxide is 25 ppm 8-hour time-weighted average, with short-term limits at 60 ppm. Bay-wide CO sensors trigger audible alarms and turn the dilution exhaust to high speed. The supply ductwork is sized for two modes — normal dilution (6 to 8 ACH) and CO-alarm purge (12 to 15 ACH).

Material choice is galvanised throughout. The tailpipe reels themselves are heat-resistant flexible duct rated for 250 degrees Celsius continuous exhaust temperature. Some campuses also fit a brake-dust local extract at each lift, although this is less common in TAFE training centres than in dealer-network service bays.

6. Fume cupboard teaching laboratory (chemistry undergraduate)

The fume cupboard teaching lab is where AS/NZS 2243.8 lives. A typical second-year chemistry teaching bench has 12 to 24 fume cupboards in a row, with two students per cupboard during prac sessions. The duct design is dominated by face-velocity compliance:

• Face velocity: 0.5 m/s ± 0.1 m/s at the design sash height (usually 500 mm vertical opening). Low-flow alarm at 0.4 m/s.
• Exhaust flow per cupboard: 1500 mm wide cupboard at 500 mm sash height = 0.75 m² open area, 0.375 m³/s required. That is 1,350 m³/h per cupboard. A row of 20 teaching cupboards at full diversity is 27,000 m³/h of dedicated exhaust.
• Diversity factor: teaching cupboards have a much higher simultaneous-use factor than research cupboards because all students use them at the same time during a prac. Design for 70 to 100 percent diversity, not the 50 to 70 percent typical of research labs.
• Dedicated exhaust: no recirculation, no heat recovery wheel (cross-contamination risk), no mixing with general lab exhaust. Each cupboard rises to a roof manifold and discharges through a vertical stack at least 3 m above the roof.
• Materials: 304 stainless from the cupboard collar to the roof manifold. Some specifications allow PVC, polypropylene or epoxy-coated galvanised steel for specific chemistries (e.g. hydrofluoric acid requires PP or PVDF, not stainless), but stainless is the default.
• Variable air volume: VAV exhaust is now standard. Each cupboard has a venturi or blade-damper valve that modulates flow as the sash moves to hold 0.5 m/s constant. The room supply is interlocked to maintain negative pressure of 5 to 10 Pa relative to the corridor.

7. Science teaching lab (chemistry, biology, physics)

The science teaching lab is the most common space in any tertiary science faculty. Lower hazard than research, higher hazard than a school lab, used by undergraduates for hands-on prac work.

• Chemistry teaching lab: 6 to 10 ACH, dedicated fume cupboards (one per six to eight students minimum), bench-top point extraction at sinks for solvent decanting, neutralisation pit for acid/base drain discharge (cross-reference: every chemistry lab in Australia must have one or an equivalent dilution tank under the local trade-waste licence). Stainless drops to cupboards, galvanised general exhaust.
• Biology teaching lab: 6 to 10 ACH, optional PC2 small-scale containment for second- and third-year prac classes, biosafety cabinets (Class II A2 most common) on stainless drops with dedicated exhaust per AS 2252, autoclave room with steam-condensate ventilation. Mostly galvanised but stainless on cabinet drops.
• Physics teaching lab: lower hazard but tight environmental tolerances on optics rooms (laser labs need 21 to 23 degrees ± 0.5 K for laser stability), magnetic shielding rooms have to avoid steel ductwork in the field volume (use aluminium or non-magnetic stainless duct).

Air-change and outdoor-air targets — the AS 1668.2 / ASHRAE 16 cross-reference

Specifying the correct outdoor air rate and total air change is where most tertiary projects either pass or fail the first commissioning round. The reference points are:

• Lecture theatre, classroom, tutorial room: 10 L/s per person outdoor air per AS 1668.2, typically 4 to 6 ACH total.
• Science teaching lab: 7.5 to 10 L/s per person outdoor air, 6 to 10 ACH total — driven by occupancy and fume cupboard makeup.
• Research wet lab: 10 ACH minimum, 12 ACH typical. Many universities specify 6 ACH unoccupied night setback to recover energy.
• Mechanical workshop: 6 to 8 ACH, plus the LEV exhaust at each station calculated separately and added to the makeup.
• Welding bay: 8 to 12 ACH general, plus 0.5 m/s capture velocity at every arc, plus argon ventilation at the gas store.
• Automotive trade lab: 6 to 8 ACH normal mode, 12 to 15 ACH CO-alarm purge mode, plus dedicated tailpipe extract per bay.
• Electronics lab: 4 to 6 ACH, MERV 13 supply, tight RH control.
• Fume cupboard teaching lab: set by the simultaneous exhaust flow of all running cupboards, plus a 1.2 to 1.5 makeup oversize for room-pressure stability.

The most common AS 1668.2 mistake on tertiary projects is calculating outdoor air on AS 1668.2 Table A1 alone and forgetting that the process-driven exhaust (cupboards, LEV) in a lab usually dominates the makeup requirement. The right calculation order is: sum the dedicated exhaust first, then check whether 10 L/s per person outdoor air is enough to balance it, and increase outdoor air if the room would otherwise go positive.

Materials selection — galvanised, 304 stainless, 316 stainless, PP, PVC

The material specification on a tertiary lab project is a balance of capital cost, contaminant chemistry, cleanability and longevity. Here is the SBKJ engineering rule of thumb:

• Galvanised steel (Z275 hot-dip): default for supply, return and general workshop exhaust. Acceptable for welding fume W1 and W2. 1.0 mm minimum, 1.2 mm preferred for ducts above 600 mm equivalent diameter, 1.5 mm for ducts above 1,000 mm. Service life 25 to 40 years on supply, 15 to 25 years on workshop exhaust.
• 304 stainless steel: chemistry teaching fume exhaust, biology cabinet exhaust, welding W3 fume trunk, autoclave condensate. 1.2 mm preferred, 1.5 mm for trunk diameters above 600 mm. Resistant to most acids and bases at lab teaching concentrations. Welded longitudinal seam is preferred over Pittsburgh lock for cleanability.
• 316 stainless steel: chloride-bearing chemistries (HCl, NaCl, seawater test rigs), halide chemistry, salt-spray cabinets, marine engineering test labs (e.g. UNSW, James Cook). The added 2 to 3 percent molybdenum versus 304 is the only difference but it matters for chlorides.
• Polypropylene (PP): hydrofluoric acid, strong oxidising acid teaching benches, perchloric acid digestion fume cupboards (PP is mandatory because perchloric reacts with stainless above a certain concentration). PP cannot run at high temperature so it is restricted to room-temperature exhaust.
• PVC (UPVC): dilute acid exhaust, plating baths, dental teaching clinic exhaust (occasional, for amalgam capture). PVC has a fire rating limit and is not used in any fire-rated lab exhaust path.
• Aluminium: rare in lab work, used in magnetic-field-sensitive spaces (physics teaching labs adjacent to NMR or MRI suites) where ferrous duct would distort the field.
• Epoxy-coated galvanised: a budget alternative to 304 stainless for some teaching chemistry trunks. The coating is the failure point — chips and pinholes expose galvanising to acid attack — so it is not recommended on serviced trunks that are wet-cleaned regularly.

Acoustics — NC-30, NC-35, NC-40, NC-50 by space type

The acoustic target by space sets the supply velocity, the attenuator strategy and the duct sizing. Tertiary projects with student-occupancy spaces follow these benchmarks:

• Lecture theatre, library reading room: NC-30 to NC-35. Supply velocity below 4 m/s in occupied space, attenuators on every branch off the main supply.
• Tutorial room, postgraduate study room: NC-30. Lined duct or plenum on the supply branch.
• Science teaching lab: NC-40 to NC-45. Lab work tolerates more background noise than a tutorial room, but lecturer instruction must remain audible.
• Mechanical workshop, welding bay: NC-50. Workshop machinery dominates the noise floor anyway.
• Electronics lab: NC-35 to NC-40. Audio measurement and close-listening work needs a quieter background than the workshop.

Avoid putting a research lab adjacent to a workshop without acoustic separation. The duct runs that cross the wall are usually the failure point — bricks block sound, but a 600 mm galvanised duct shared between the two rooms is an acoustic short circuit.

Energy and rating tools — NABERS, Green Star Education, BCA Section J

Tertiary capital works in Australia are increasingly bound by NABERS Energy for Schools (extended to higher education in some state procurement frameworks) and Green Star Education ratings. The headline ductwork implications are:

• NABERS Energy: drives the fan-power target (W/L/s on the AHU), and therefore the duct pressure-drop budget. Aim for ductwork pressure drop below 1.0 Pa/m on main runs, 0.8 Pa/m on branch runs.
• Green Star Education v1.2 (or current revision): credits for daylight, IAQ monitoring, low-VOC interior finishes, and ventilation rates above the AS 1668 minimum. Lab spaces often score Green Star credits by demonstrating CO2 monitoring and demand-controlled ventilation in lecture spaces, and by exceeding the AS 1668.2 outdoor air rate by 30 percent in teaching laboratories.
• BCA / NCC Section J: envelope and HVAC energy efficiency. Lab spaces are exempt from many recirculation requirements in Section J because once-through air is mandatory under AS/NZS 2243, but the building still has to meet overall energy targets — usually achieved through heat-recovery on the supply/exhaust pair (run-around coil, glycol loop, or sensible-only plate exchanger; total enthalpy wheels are banned on fume exhaust because of cross-contamination).

The Australian university map — Group of Eight and beyond

Australia's tertiary sector clusters into the research-intensive Group of Eight (Go8), the broader Australian Technology Network, the regional and dual-sector universities, and the public TAFE system. Each cluster has different fit-out drivers and different procurement patterns. Here is the SBKJ engineering view of who is who and what they tend to build.

The Group of Eight — the research powerhouses

• University of Melbourne (Parkville, Burnley, Werribee, Creswick): Parkville is the main campus with the bulk of the chemistry, biomedical and engineering teaching labs. Burnley hosts the horticulture and plant science teaching labs (lower hazard, but heavy on soil and chemical handling). Werribee is the veterinary teaching hospital — separate ventilation regime, large-animal scale. Creswick is the forest and ecosystem science campus.
• University of Sydney (Camperdown, Camden vet, Cumberland health): Camperdown holds the engineering and science teaching labs. Camden is the vet school (large-animal). Cumberland (Lidcombe) covers physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and other health teaching — clinical-style ventilation rather than wet-lab.
• Australian National University (Canberra Acton): the only single-campus Go8. The Research School of Chemistry and the Research School of Physics dominate the wet-lab fit-out load. The Mt Stromlo observatory adds optical instrumentation cleanrooms.
• University of Queensland (St Lucia, Gatton, Herston): St Lucia main campus. Gatton is the veterinary and agricultural science campus (large-animal). Herston is the health faculty co-located with the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
• University of New South Wales (Kensington, Paddington): Kensington main, with one of the largest engineering faculties in Australia (mechanical, civil, electrical, mechatronic, mining, petroleum, biomedical, materials). Paddington is UNSW Art & Design — workshop-heavy with sculpture, ceramics and digital fabrication studios. UNSW also operates a coastal/marine research presence at various NSW locations.
• Monash University (Clayton, Caulfield, Parkville, Peninsula): Clayton is the main engineering and science campus. Caulfield is the arts/design/business campus with light workshop work. Parkville is the pharmacy school (cleanroom and analytical labs). Peninsula (Frankston) is the nursing and education campus.
• University of Western Australia (Crawley): the single-campus Go8 in Perth. Engineering, science, agriculture and medicine all on the Crawley site, plus the Albany regional campus for plant biology.
• University of Adelaide (North Terrace, Waite, Roseworthy): North Terrace is the main campus. Waite is the agricultural and viticulture campus (PC2 plant pathology, wine science). Roseworthy is the vet school.

The Australian Technology Network and other major universities

The non-Go8 tier still runs major engineering and TAFE-equivalent workshops:

• University of Technology Sydney (UTS) — Broadway campus. Modern engineering and design faculties with one of Australia's larger digital-fabrication and mechatronic teaching labs.
• RMIT University (Melbourne city, Brunswick, Bundoora). Dual-sector (university and TAFE). Melbourne city campus runs the design school, aerospace and engineering. Brunswick is the textiles and TAFE trade campus. Bundoora hosts aerospace engineering and the chiropractic clinics.
• Deakin University (Geelong Waurn Ponds, Burwood, Warrnambool, Geelong Waterfront). Waurn Ponds is the engineering and IT campus with carbon-fibre composite labs and the Carbon Nexus facility. Burwood is the Melbourne campus.
• La Trobe University (Bundoora, Bendigo, Albury-Wodonga, Mildura, Shepparton). Bundoora main, with biomedical, agricultural and veterinary teaching labs. The regional campuses include nursing simulation labs and field stations.
• Curtin University (Bentley, Perth). Bentley campus runs mining, petroleum, chemical engineering and a large pharmacy school.
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT) (Gardens Point, Kelvin Grove). Gardens Point is engineering and creative industries. Kelvin Grove is health and education.
• Griffith University (Nathan, Mt Gravatt, Gold Coast, Logan, South Bank). Five campuses across south-east Queensland. Engineering and biomedical sciences at Nathan and Gold Coast.
• Macquarie University (North Ryde). Single Sydney campus with engineering, biomedical science and a co-located hospital.
• University of Newcastle (Callaghan, City). Callaghan is the engineering and science campus, with strong mining and resources engineering. City is the business school.
• University of Wollongong (Wollongong, Innovation Campus, Shoalhaven, regional sites). Strong engineering and computing presence, plus the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials at the Innovation Campus.
• University of Tasmania (Sandy Bay Hobart, Newnham Launceston, Burnie). Engineering, marine science (Australian Maritime College at Newnham), agricultural science.

The specialist and regional universities

• Charles Darwin University (CDU) — Casuarina (Darwin), Palmerston, Alice Springs. Tropical-zone engineering, indigenous education and TAFE-equivalent vocational training. Casuarina runs the main engineering teaching labs.
• Charles Sturt University (CSU) — Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Port Macquarie, Orange. Regional multi-campus university with strong veterinary, agricultural and policing programs.
• James Cook University (JCU) — Townsville, Cairns, Singapore. Tropical biology, marine biology and engineering. Often runs simultaneous PC2 biology teaching and large-animal vet teaching on the same campus.
• University of New England (UNE) — Armidale. Strong agricultural and rural science teaching, including the Armidale plant research stations.
• University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) — Sippy Downs, Moreton Bay. Newer university with engineering and health teaching labs.
• Southern Cross University (SCU) — Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast. Marine science and natural medicine.
• Western Sydney University (WSU) — multi-campus across western Sydney. Engineering and health teaching, with the Hawkesbury campus running agricultural science.
• Federation University Australia — Ballarat, Berwick, Brisbane, Gippsland. Dual-sector. Includes the SMB campus (formerly Ballarat School of Mines) which runs heavy TAFE trade workshops.

The Australian TAFE system — where the trade workshops live

If university engineering labs are where the simulations happen, TAFE workshops are where students wear PPE, strike arcs, weld pipe and crawl under vehicles. The TAFE network is also where most automotive, refrigeration and air-conditioning, plumbing, electrical and metal trades training takes place. The major systems:

• TAFE NSW. The largest TAFE system in Australia with around 105 campuses across New South Wales, from metro Sydney (Ultimo, Meadowbank, Padstow, Granville, Liverpool, Loftus, Miller, Bankstown, Crows Nest) to regional centres (Newcastle, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Tamworth, Albury, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Bathurst, Orange, Broken Hill). Heavy emphasis on automotive, refrigeration and air-conditioning, welding, fabrication, plumbing and electrical trades.
• TAFE Victoria (the dual-sector and standalone institutes). Includes Bendigo TAFE (Bendigo Kangan), Box Hill Institute, Chisholm Institute, Federation TAFE, Gordon Institute (Geelong), Goulburn Ovens TAFE, Holmesglen Institute, Kangan Institute, Melbourne Polytechnic (formerly NMIT), South West TAFE, Sunraysia Institute, William Angliss Institute, and Wodonga TAFE. The Victorian network is structured as a mix of standalone TAFEs and dual-sector universities (RMIT, Swinburne, Victoria University, Federation).
• TAFE Queensland. A single statewide TAFE with regional delivery: Brisbane (South Bank, Mt Gravatt, Acacia Ridge, Bracken Ridge, Loganlea, Caboolture, Redcliffe), Gold Coast (Coomera, Ashmore), Sunshine Coast (Mooloolaba, Nambour), Wide Bay (Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Maryborough, Gympie), North (Townsville, Cairns, Mt Isa) and Darling Downs–South West (Toowoomba, Warwick, Charleville).
• TAFE SA. South Australian network across Adelaide (Adelaide City, Tonsley, Regency, Elizabeth, Noarlunga, Salisbury, Tea Tree Gully), regional (Mt Gambier, Murray Bridge, Berri, Naracoorte, Port Adelaide, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Whyalla) and Aboriginal Access campuses.
• TAFE WA (North Metropolitan TAFE and South Metropolitan TAFE). Split into two metropolitan institutes — North Metro (Joondalup, Balga, Leederville, Mt Lawley, Perth, East Perth) and South Metro (Carlisle, Fremantle, Jandakot, Murdoch, Rockingham, Thornlie, Armadale, Mandurah) — plus regional networks across the Pilbara, Kimberley, Goldfields, South West and Great Southern.
• TasTAFE. The Tasmanian network covering Hobart, Launceston, Burnie, Devonport, Clarence, Drysdale (hospitality) and the regional Bass and Cradle Coast campuses.
• CIT (Canberra Institute of Technology). The ACT's standalone TAFE-equivalent, with campuses at Reid, Bruce, Tuggeranong, Fyshwick, Gungahlin and a new Woden campus under construction.
• Charles Darwin University TAFE (Northern Territory). CDU is also the NT's main TAFE provider, integrated with the university structure.

Additionally, several private and not-for-profit Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) operate at TAFE-equivalent scale: Box Hill Institute (although technically a Victorian public TAFE), Holmesglen Institute (Victorian public TAFE), and William Angliss Institute (Victorian public TAFE specialising in hospitality, tourism and food trades).

TAFE workshop trades — the duct view

TAFE trade qualifications map almost directly to workshop ventilation requirements. The major streams:

• Welding and fabrication (Cert II to Diploma). Heaviest LEV load. Each student station has a flexible-arm extractor, stainless duct on W3 streams, central cartridge filter. AS 3853 governs.
• Automotive — light vehicle, heavy vehicle, motorcycle, body repair (Cert III). Tailpipe extraction, brake dust capture, paint booth (separate AS 4114 paint-booth standard), refrigerant handling. Cross-references to AS 4575 refrigeration training.
• Refrigeration and air-conditioning (AS 4575 RAC training). Practical refrigeration teaching workshops. Students charge and recover R-134a, R-410A, R-290 (propane), R-744 (CO2) and R-1234yf systems. Ventilation interlocked with refrigerant detection per AS/NZS 5149.
• Plumbing (Cert III). Less ductwork on the workshop itself, but plumbing simulation rigs need wet-floor ventilation and condensate handling.
• Electrical (Cert III, post-trade qualifications). Cable termination, switchboard work, motor rewinds. Generally low ventilation demand except in motor rewind bays (varnish/dip-tank fume).
• Sheet metal trades (Cert III). A natural home for SBKJ ductwork training and machinery — students learn to operate brake presses, shears, plasma cutters and HVAC duct lines. Plasma cutting needs LEV per AS 3853 (NOx and ozone) and a downdraft cutting table.
• Engineering — mechanical, fabrication, fitting and machining (Cert III, Cert IV, Diploma). The full workshop loadout — lathes, mills, CNC, grinding, welding. Highest cumulative ventilation load.
• Carpentry, joinery and cabinetmaking. Wood dust extraction at every machine (AS 1668.2 dust-class requirements), MERV 14 on the return after the bag house.
• Building, painting and decorating. Paint booth (AS 4114), solvent fume capture, spray simulation rigs.

Skills Australia and the Australian Apprenticeships system underpin the funding and qualification framework. The TAFE workshop fit-out has to support the registered training qualification — for example a Certificate III in Engineering – Fabrication Trade (MEM30319 or current equivalent) requires demonstrable competency in welding processes that need W3-compliant LEV.

Mechanical workshop deep dive — the SBKJ machine fit

When a university or TAFE commissions a new workshop building, the ductwork itself becomes a project deliverable. The contractor either buys pre-fabricated ducts or makes them on a duct production line. For a typical 5,000 to 15,000 square metre tertiary engineering or trade campus, the duct quantity hits 8,000 to 25,000 square metres of sheet-metal surface area. That is squarely in the volume range where on-site fabrication beats imported ductwork on landed cost.

SBKJ's machine portfolio for this kind of project is structured as follows:

• SBAL-III Auto Duct Production Line — galvanised steel. Handles 0.5 to 1.5 mm galvanised steel, forms rectangular duct with TDF/TDC flange in a single pass, 25 to 35 m/min single-shift output. This is the workhorse for the supply, return and general workshop exhaust ducts. One SBAL-III can supply the entire galvanised quantity for a typical TAFE engineering campus inside a four to six week fabrication window.
• SBAL-V Auto Duct Production Line — stainless capable. A heavier-frame line with upgraded forming rollers and a dedicated TIG seam welder for 0.6 to 1.5 mm 304 and 316 stainless. Used for the chemistry exhaust, biology cabinet exhaust, welding W3 LEV trunk and any fume cupboard riser fabrication. The TIG seam delivers a hygienic, cleanable longitudinal weld rather than a mechanical Pittsburgh lock seam.
• Standalone TIG seam welder. For projects where the volume of stainless ductwork does not justify a full SBAL-V line, SBKJ supplies a standalone seam welder that retrofits onto the contractor's existing manual brake press workflow. This is the more common purchase for smaller TAFE projects or single-faculty fit-outs.
• Pittsburgh lock formers, Bending Machines, Gorelockers, Stitchwelders. Round duct and fitting fabrication, mostly for the welding-fume LEV trunk, automotive tailpipe extract reels and the stack risers.

The typical fit-out package for a major TAFE engineering campus is one SBAL-III, one standalone TIG seam welder, one Gorelocker for round-duct work, and one Stitchwelder for the welding bay LEV trunk. That covers galvanised, stainless and round duct from the same shop, sized to deliver the campus fit-out inside the construction window.

Commissioning, testing and ongoing compliance

The duct system is not complete on delivery — it is complete on commissioning. The Australian tertiary commissioning sequence is:

1. Pre-commissioning duct leak test. AS 4254 leakage class A or B depending on the application. Fume cupboard exhaust trunks should be tested to class A (very low leakage).
2. Balancing. Set room airflow rates to the design specification, room-by-room. Tolerances are typically ± 10 percent on supply and ± 5 percent on dedicated exhaust.
3. Fume cupboard face velocity test. Required by AS/NZS 2243.8 annually. Hot-wire anemometer traverse at the sash plane, recorded on a calibration sticker on the cupboard.
4. Containment test. AS/NZS 2243.8 containment performance test using SF6 tracer gas, demonstrating that the cupboard captures spilled vapour at the operator breathing zone.
5. Biosafety cabinet certification. AS 2252 series annual certification for Class II A2 cabinets in biology teaching labs.
6. Room-pressure verification. Negative 5 to 10 Pa relative to the corridor in fume cupboard rooms, neutral or slightly negative in general teaching labs.
7. Welding LEV capture test. Smoke tube or breathing-zone particulate measurement at each welding station, confirming 0.5 m/s capture velocity at the arc.
8. CO sensor calibration. Automotive bay CO sensors calibrated against a known gas mixture, alarm thresholds verified at 25 ppm and 60 ppm.
9. Building management system integration. All flow stations, face-velocity alarms and refrigerant detectors logged to the BMS with audit trail.
10. Practical completion certificate. The mechanical contractor's commissioning report countersigned by the consulting engineer and accepted by the university or TAFE facilities manager.

Ongoing compliance then requires annual fume cupboard testing, annual biosafety cabinet certification, six-monthly LEV inspection per the AIOH (Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists) guideline, and continuous CO monitoring with alarm logging.

Common failure modes — the 10 mistakes we see most often

Almost every project we get called into has at least one of these problems. They are the most expensive things to fix after commissioning, so check for them on the drawings before signing off.

1. Fume cupboard exhaust connected to a heat recovery wheel. Cross-contamination risk — banned by AS/NZS 2243.8. Use sensible-only plate exchanger or run-around coil instead.
2. Welding bay LEV undersized for class W3 work. The designer assumed mild-steel-only welding. Once the campus runs stainless or aluminium, capture velocity at the arc drops below 0.5 m/s and the system is non-compliant.
3. Automotive bay CO sensors at the ceiling. CO is roughly the same density as air, so ceiling sensors will detect, but the highest exposure is at the mechanic's breathing zone — sensors at 1.5 to 1.8 m above floor capture the actual risk earlier.
4. Electronics lab without winter humidification. In Melbourne or Canberra, indoor RH drops below 20 percent on cold dry winter days without humidification. Static failures on PCBs.
5. Chemistry teaching lab with galvanised cupboard drops. The drops corrode within five years. Always specify stainless from the cupboard collar to the roof manifold.
6. Diversity factor set too low on a teaching fume cupboard manifold. Designed at 60 percent diversity for a teaching lab — on prac day all 20 cupboards are running, face velocity drops to 0.3 m/s, alarms go off, and the prac class is cancelled.
7. Vehicle bay tailpipe extract sized for a small car only. A diesel light truck on the dyno produces 4 to 5 times the exhaust volume of a 1.6 L petrol car. Reels must be sized for the heaviest vehicle the bay accepts.
8. Acoustic plenums omitted in a lecture theatre supply. NC-30 target missed by 8 to 10 dB, the room is unusable for film studies or music teaching.
9. Refrigerant ventilation interlock not tested at handover. AS/NZS 5149 requires the ventilation to ramp up on refrigerant detection — if the interlock fails on commissioning day, it usually fails for years before anyone notices.
10. No spare-parts continuity for VAV cupboard valves. Variable-air-volume cupboard valves are proprietary. If the campus standardises on one valve brand and the brand exits the market, the spares disappear. Specify two brands across the campus to hedge.

How SBKJ supports an Australian tertiary fit-out

SBKJ is an Australian-headquartered HVAC duct machinery supplier based in Box Hill North, Victoria. We supply duct production lines, seam welders, Pittsburgh lock formers, Bending Machines, Gorelockers and Stitchwelders to ducting contractors who work on tertiary education projects across Australia and 100+ countries worldwide. Our involvement in a university or TAFE project typically takes one of three forms:

• Direct supply to a ducting contractor or fabricator. The contractor wins a tender (e.g. for a new TAFE engineering campus or a university science precinct fit-out), and we supply the duct production line and ancillary machinery they need to fabricate the volume of duct required inside the construction window.
• Specification support during design. Some consulting engineers ask SBKJ engineers to peer-review the duct specification — material grade, gauge, leakage class, seam type, fitting style — before the tender goes out. We do this at no cost as part of our commitment to the Australian engineering community.
• Long-term parts and service. For the ducting contractors who have already standardised on SBKJ machinery, we support the machines across their 10 to 25 year service life with original spare parts, software updates and on-site service from the Australian Box Hill North office.

If you are a consulting engineer, a university facilities manager, a TAFE asset coordinator, or a ducting contractor preparing to tender on a tertiary education project, the SBKJ engineering team is happy to share specification templates, machine configuration recommendations and reference projects.

Talk to an SBKJ engineer about your university or TAFE project →

FAQ

What ventilation codes apply to Australian university and TAFE workshops?

The primary references are AS 1668.2 (mechanical ventilation), AS/NZS 2243 series (laboratory safety, especially Parts 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9), AS 4024 (machinery safety), AS 3853 (welding fume), AS/NZS 5149 (refrigerant), and the ASHRAE Applications Handbook Chapters 7 (Educational Facilities) and 16 (Laboratories). NFPA 45 is the international laboratory-fire reference used by most Australian universities.

What is the difference between a teaching lab and a research lab for ductwork?

Teaching labs are lower-hazard, used by undergraduates under direct supervision, and typically run at 6 to 10 ACH. Research labs are higher-hazard, use small quantities of more dangerous reagents, and run at 10 to 12 ACH. Teaching labs often use galvanised exhaust ductwork with stainless drops at fume cupboards, while research labs default to 304 or 316 stainless throughout the wet-bench exhaust manifold.

What face velocity is required for teaching-lab fume cupboards?

AS/NZS 2243.8 requires 0.5 m/s ± 0.1 m/s at the design sash height, with a low-flow alarm at 0.4 m/s. Variable-air-volume (VAV) cupboards modulate exhaust to hold face velocity constant. Teaching cupboards run at 70 to 100 percent diversity (versus 50 to 70 percent for research) because all students use them simultaneously during pracs.

What duct material should a welding bay use?

1.2 mm galvanised for general mild-steel welding (AS 3853 W1 and W2), with a downstream HEPA or cartridge filter. Upgrade to 1.5 mm 304 stainless for stainless welding, aluminium welding or W3 hexavalent chromium fume. Source extraction at the torch is mandatory under AS 3853 W3, and the captured fume is conveyed through a dedicated stainless trunk to a roof discharge.

Can the same machine make galvanised and stainless lab ducts?

SBKJ's SBAL-III auto duct production line forms galvanised steel up to 1.5 mm. For stainless, the SBAL-V line uses upgraded forming rollers, a TIG seam welder rather than mechanical Pittsburgh lock, and stainless-compatible tooling. A typical Australian university or TAFE fit-out package pairs an SBAL-III for the bulk supply and return ducts with a smaller SBAL-V or standalone TIG seam welder for the chemistry, biology and fume cupboard exhaust trunks.

What air-change rate should a chemistry teaching lab use?

6 to 10 ACH total air change, with outdoor air per AS 1668.2 Table A1 at 7.5 to 10 L/s per person. The actual makeup is usually dominated by the simultaneous fume cupboard exhaust rather than the per-person outdoor air rate, especially during prac sessions. Design for the higher of the two and balance for negative 5 to 10 Pa relative to the corridor.

Do TAFE workshops need the same standards as university research labs?

The Australian Standards apply equally — AS 3853 welding fume, AS 4024 machinery safety, AS 1668.2 ventilation — but the application is different. TAFE workshops generally have higher ventilation rates because there are more students working simultaneously on similar processes (e.g. 20 students welding at once on a Cert III intake), while university research labs have lower simultaneous loading but higher hazard per process.

How does SBKJ price a duct production line for a tertiary fit-out?

Pricing depends on the machine model, capacity, automation level, and ancillary tooling (run-out tables, coil cradle, TDF flange former). A typical SBAL-III galvanised line for a TAFE engineering fit-out lands in the mid-six-figure AUD range CIF Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane port. A combined SBAL-III + standalone TIG seam welder package suits most major university science precinct projects. See our pricing and lead time guide for current ranges.