---
title: "Selling fuel containers in Australia: AS/NZS 2906 and AFAC colours"
url: https://fortitude21.com/australia-as-nzs-2906-afac-compliance
language: en
description: "AS/NZS 2906:2001 and AFAC colours for fuel containers in Australia and New Zealand: scope, the 25 litre limit, the AFAC colours, and how UN marking differs."
---

# Selling fuel containers in Australia: AS/NZS 2906 and AFAC colours

The product standard, the colour schedule agencies buy to, and where UN marking fits alongside both.

*In this channel the colour is part of the specification.*

Two requirements apply to a fuel container in Australia. AS/NZS 2906 is the product standard. AFAC colour coding is how fire and land-management agencies tell one fuel from another in the field. A can can meet the first and be unsaleable to an agency without the second.

**Quick answer:** What is AS/NZS 2906?

AS/NZS 2906:2001 is the Australian and New Zealand standard for refillable portable fuel containers in metal or plastic up to 25 litres. It sets material, design, performance and marking requirements with its own test methods, so certification comes with a report. A 30 litre can falls outside it, water containers need none, and UN marking is a separate approval.

## What AS/NZS 2906 actually covers

AS/NZS 2906:2001, *Fuel containers — Portable — Plastics and metal*, sets material, design, performance and marking requirements for refillable portable fuel containers in metal or plastic, up to and including **25 litres**. It covers containers for storing and transporting fuel, and fuel tanks for boats. The scope names unleaded, leaded and super petrol, two-stroke fuel and kerosene, and excludes racing fuels unless the manufacturer specifically approves them.

A 30-litre container falls outside the standard’s scope, so a supplier cannot certify one to it. Test methods are part of the standard, so “made to AS/NZS 2906” and “certified to AS/NZS 2906” are different claims and only the second comes with a report. And it is a *fuel* container standard: a water can does not need it, which is why a water line can enter Australia while a fuel line is still certifying.

The 25-litre ceiling is a scope boundary, not a performance one. Above it the standard does not speak, so there is no compliant 30-litre fuel container in the AS/NZS sense and no test report that could create one. A buyer specifying a bulk format for an Australian fuel application is choosing to sit outside the standard. That may be legitimate for a fixed store drawn from by tap, but it is not something to discover after an agency tender closes.

Testing to the standard's own methods produces a report naming a design, and that report is what a buyer's compliance file needs. A supplier describing a can as "made to" the standard is describing an intention. The question that separates them is short: who tested it, when, against which clauses, and may I have the report.

*Check the capacity before asking a supplier for the certificate. No amount of building quality brings a 30 litre can inside the standard.*

## The AFAC colour schedule

AFAC is the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council. Its colour coding lets a crew identify a fuel by the can at a glance, which matters when a truck carries petrol, diesel, two-stroke at two different ratios and a drip-torch mix at the same time. Agencies write these colours into their own procedures, so for that channel the colour is part of the specification.

Some agencies buy the can in its AFAC colour; others, the ACT Rural Fire Service among them, apply the colour as a label or ID tag. Where an agency buys the can in its colour, treat that as a tooling and masterbatch decision rather than a finishing one. A moulded colour is set by the masterbatch and a coated one by the powder, and either has to be matched to the published shade and held from run to run. A near-miss is a rejected delivery in this channel, so agree the reference, the tolerance and who judges it before the first production run rather than after it.

| Colour | Contents |
| --- | --- |
| Red | Unleaded petrol |
| Orange | Ethanol blend |
| Olive yellow | Diesel |
| Bottle green | Two-stroke 25:1 |
| Pipeline grey | Two-stroke 50:1 |
| Shamrock green | Drip torch mix |
| Powder blue | Kerosene |
| Bright blue | Chain and bar oil |
| Black | Oil |
| Nut brown | Biodiesel |

Commonly supplied in 5, 10 and 20 litre. AFAC sets ten colours, all for fuels and oils; AdBlue and water have no AFAC colour. Confirm the current schedule with AFAC or the buying agency before you tool a colour, because a near-miss on shade is a rejected delivery.

*Swatches are INDICATIVE, for recognition only. AFAC sets ten shades, none for AdBlue or water, and a near-miss is a rejected delivery, so confirm the exact colour with AFAC or the buying agency before tooling anything.*

## Where UN marking fits

AS/NZS 2906 is a product standard. UN marking is a dangerous-goods transport approval, granted per design type to a maker whose production the competent authority accepts. They answer different questions and neither substitutes for the other: a can can be UN 3A1 marked and still not meet AS/NZS 2906, and an AS/NZS-compliant can still needs the UN mark to move as dangerous goods. Australian buyers in the agency and mining channels routinely ask for both, and each is evidenced by its own document rather than by a general assurance.

Sequence them by lead time rather than by importance. Both need testing. A UN approval covers a design type made under the maker’s accepted quality assurance, and a second plant needs the authority’s sign-off, often with its own tests. Start the UN approval first where a second production base is in play. AS/NZS testing attaches to the design, so start that first where the format or the closure is still moving. Beginning both at once on an unsettled design pays for two rounds of testing.

*Above the ceiling the standard does not speak, so there is no compliant 30-litre fuel container in the AS/NZS sense and no test report that could create one. That may be perfectly legitimate for a fixed store drawn from by tap, and it is not something to discover after an agency tender closes.*

## What this means if you are importing

- **Water first, fuel second.** Potable-water containers sit outside AS/NZS 2906 entirely. If you are opening the market, water is the line that can ship while fuel certifies.
- **Certification follows the design and the maker.** Changing factory does not carry a UN approval across without the authority’s sign-off. Budget the re-testing rather than discovering it.
- **Ask for the report, not the claim.** The standard contains its test methods, so a real certification has a document behind it.
- **Colour may be tooling.** Some agencies buy the can in the AFAC colour and others apply it as a label or ID tag. Ask which before you tool.

*Three of five rows fall outside, which is why a supplier claiming AS/NZS 2906 across a whole range has usually claimed it across products it cannot apply to.*

*Colour is the fastest thing to check and the cheapest thing to get wrong. Nobody should tool a colour off a screen; ask for the schedule reference and match to a physical chip.*

## What we hold, and what we do not

We hold UN certification for our dangerous-goods designs plus ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001. **AS/NZS 2906 certification and AFAC colours are not held on our standard range today; both are obtainable and we quote them as part of a programme.** Nothing on this site claims either as current, and you should check any supplier’s claim against the actual report, ours included.

The two routes:

- **AS/NZS 2906.** The standard contains its own test methods, so certification means testing a design at an accredited laboratory and holding the report. It is granted per design, so it covers the format and closure tested rather than the range. We quote the testing and the lead time alongside the unit price so the certification cost is visible rather than buried.
- **AFAC colours.** A production decision, not a certification, where the agency buys the can in its colour. Matching a colour is a powder-coat specification with tooling and minimum volume behind it, and acceptance in the agency channel runs through the buying agency. We can run any RAL or matched colour; what we cannot do is shortcut the agency’s own acceptance.

The food-grade stainless water line ships now, because the fuel standard does not reach potable water. A certified fuel line follows on the testing timeline. If you need an AFAC-listed can this season, buy from a supplier who already holds it. If you are building a programme for next season, tell us the formats and colours and we will come back with the certification path, the testing cost and a realistic date.

*The split matters at tender time. An agency asking the importer for test evidence is asking for something only the supplier can produce, and the lead time on that is not the importer to control.*

## Where to start

The lines that can move into Australia without waiting on a fuel-container approval.

| Your use case | Recommended can | Why this one |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Water, shipping now | [20L Stainless Steel Water Can](https://fortitude21.com/product-20l-stainless-water-can) | Outside AS/NZS 2906 scope; food-grade 304. |
| Water in NATO carriers | [20L NATO Steel Water Can](https://fortitude21.com/product-20l-nato-steel-water-can) | Fits existing racks and holders. |
| Accessories, no certification path | [Jerry Can Holders & Mounts](https://fortitude21.com/product-jerry-can-holders) | No dangerous-goods approval involved. |
| AdBlue and DEF | [DEF Can — Diesel Exhaust Fluid](https://fortitude21.com/product-def-can) | ISO 22241 materials; blue by trade convention, not an AFAC colour. |

## Common questions

### What is AS/NZS 2906?

AS/NZS 2906:2001, Fuel containers - Portable - Plastics and metal, is the Australian and New Zealand standard for refillable portable fuel containers in metal or plastic, up to and including 25 litres. It sets material, design, performance and marking requirements, and includes the test methods behind them.

### Does a water container need AS/NZS 2906?

No. It is a fuel container standard, so potable-water containers fall outside its scope entirely and take food-contact and drinking-water documentation instead. This is why a water line can enter the Australian market while a fuel line is still being certified.

### What are the AFAC jerry can colours?

AFAC sets a colour per fuel so a crew can identify contents at a glance: red unleaded, orange ethanol, olive yellow diesel, bottle green two-stroke 25:1, pipeline grey two-stroke 50:1, shamrock green drip torch, powder blue kerosene, bright blue chain and bar oil, black oil, nut brown biodiesel. AdBlue and water have no AFAC colour.

### Is AS/NZS 2906 the same as UN certification?

No. AS/NZS 2906 is a product standard for the container. UN marking is a dangerous-goods transport approval granted per design type, tied to the maker. Neither substitutes for the other, and Australian agency and mining buyers commonly ask for both.

### What size containers does AS/NZS 2906 cover?

Up to and including 25 litres. A 30-litre container falls outside the scope, so no supplier can certify one to this standard however it is built. Check the capacity before you ask for the certificate.

## References

The standards and regulations this page relies on, at their issuing body. Where a market rule is named here, check the current revision before you specify against it.

- [AS/NZS 2906:2001: Fuel containers, portable, plastics and metal (Standards Australia)](https://store.standards.org.au/product/as-nzs-2906-2001)
- [AS/NZS 2906:2001 (Standards New Zealand)](https://www.standards.govt.nz/shop/asnzs-29062001)
- [Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC)](https://www.afac.com.au/)
- [AFAC guideline, Identification of Portable Fuel Containers, as adopted in ACT Rural Fire Service SOP 1.2.5](https://data.esa.act.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-07/SOP%201.2.5%20ACTRFS%20Identification%20of%20Fuel%20Containers.pdf)
- [UN Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (Rev. 24)](https://unece.org/transport/dangerous-goods/un-model-regulations-rev-24)
- [ISO 22241-3 — AUS 32 handling, transportation and storage](https://www.iso.org/standard/66410.html)

First published 12 August 2026

Last reviewed 26 October 2026 by [David Guru](https://fortitude21.com/david-guru), Co-Founder & Business Development Director. [How we review our guides](https://fortitude21.com/editorial-policy) Fortitude21 makes and sells liquid containers; our guides carry no affiliate links.