AS/NZS 5369:2023 Amendment No. 1 – Revised text amendment

Megan Reilly

Standards Australia has released the Amendment No. 1 for AS/NZS 5369:2023 which will primarily affect Australian office-based practices using Type B or some Type S cycle small steam sterilisers (chamber less than 60 litres).

The key change in the amendment is a revision to the terminology regarding the daily test requirement for moist heat sterilisation load monitoring. References to “Bowie and Dick-type test” have been replaced with “air removal and steam penetration test”.

For dental, medical, allied health and other practices with small steam sterilisers, AS/NZS 5369:2023 requires practices to follow the steriliser’s manufacturer’s instructions (user manual) to determine what type of ISO 11140-6 compliant Air Removal and Steam Penetration Test [ARSPT] (porous device or hollow device) should be performed daily.

In the absence of specific manufacturer advice or if the advice is unclear, it is recommended the type of ISO 11140-6 compliant test required daily should be determined based on the types of RMDs being processed, i.e.

  • If hollow RMDs (such as handpieces, scaler handpieces, suction tips and/or triplex tips) are commonly included in loads, then a daily hollow device ARSPT should be performed.
  • If no hollow RMDs are sterilised (i.e. only solid instruments), then the practice can use either a hollow device or porous device ARSPT.

Practices with large sterilisers (chamber greater than 60 litres) must still perform a Bowie-Dick type test that conforms with ISO 11140-3, ISO 11140-4, or ISO 11140-5 for the daily ARSPT. In addition to the daily ARSPT, practices may, based on a local risk assessment, continue to choose to include a hollow process challenge device in loads containing hollow RMDs.

For dental practices, the ADA Infection Control Committee has updated the ADA Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control (Fifth Edition) to reflect these changes.  There is also a convenient flow chart on page 50 to help practices determine what daily ARSPT to use. https://portal.ada.org.au/infection-control-resource?resource=52