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AUSTRALIAN SAFETY TESTING1. REGULATION AND APPROVAL OF ELECTRICAL ARTICLES IN NSW
The Electricity Safety Act 1945 and the Electricity (Equipment Safety) Regulation, 994 require that all non-declared electrical articles offered for sale in NSW must be safe, according to Part 3, Division 2 of this Regulation. An application may be made to the Department for a voluntary Certificate of Suitability, which gives a resumption of safety under the Regulation. The Department is empowered to prohibit the sale of any article, which is, or is, likely to become, unsafe and to compel such remedial action, as it considers necessary for public safety. Regulations concerning the approval of declared and non-declared electrical articles are also in force in other Australian States. However, due to the particular legal requirements in each State, the various State Regulations are not identical. Nevertheless, the basic principles of the approvals scheme operating in the various States are similar and collaboration between all Regulatory Authorities as resulted in a high degree of uniformity in the practical application of their schemes. Reciprocity has also been achieved in that a declared electrical article approved initially by the approving authority in one State, may be marketed in all other States without any 'further formality. Similarly, non-declared electrical articles covered by a Certificate of Suitability issued in any one State may be considered safe for connection to the supply mains throughout Australia. An article must not be represented as being approved or certified by the NSW Department of Fair Trading unless such representation is qualified to indicate that i.e. approval or certification relates only to the electrical safety of the article, when constructed in accordance with the approved design. Omitting this qualification could imply that the Department approves the overall performance and energy efficiency of the article. Such advertising could be misleading and hence may constitute an offence. The Department may be contacted at;
2. NON-DECLARED ARTICLESThere is a wide range of electrical appliances and equipment for connection to electricity supply mains which has not been declared under Section 21 of the Electricity Safety Act 1945. By virtue of the Electricity (Equipment Safety) Regulation 1994, the Department is empowered to issue Certificates of Suitability for non-declared articles in response to voluntary applications. 2.1 Certificate of SuitabilityAny person or organization may apply for a Certificate of Suitability, which may be issued for a type of appliance or equipment that has been found to comply with published specifications and is suitable for connection to public electricity supply in New South Wales. Installation inspectors generally accept Certificates of Suitability and the relevant marking as evidence that an article meets the requirements of the SAA Wiring Rules, when carrying out inspections of electrical installations throughout the State. All other States recognize a Certificate of Suitability issued in any one State. It is essential however that the article not be varied in any way that would affect compliance with the published specification. 2.2 Published SpecificationsThe "published specifications" used for Certificate of Suitability purposes are the relevant Approval and Test Specifications published by Standards Australia, and in some cases, international standards issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) or CENELEC. Where no particular standard has been produced for the article in question, the article will be required to comply with the relevant requirements of AS 3100 (General Requirements for Electrical Equipment) or AS/NZS 3350 and with such other specifications as the Department may decide are appropriate. 2.3 MarkingAll articles covered by Certificates of Suitability should be marked in the manner authorized on the certificate. A typical marking might be "CS ... N", viz. "CS" referring to the Certificate of Suitability and "N" to New South Wales, the State of issue of the certificate. The Certificate number is placed in the middle. Although the marking should be applied on the article itself, as it is voluntary it may be on the container in which the article is packaged or not applied at all. 3. PROCEDURES3.1 ApplicationsWhere an article has not previously been approved in another State or Territory, applicants for Certificates of Suitability should lodge with the Department:
The sample submitted should be either a production sample or a sample which must conform to a production sample in material, components and construction, and which is of the type covered by the test report (prototype articles are not normally adequate to prove compliance with test requirements). Arrangements should be made to collect these samples after the approval is completed. Depending on the product and if a compliant test report is held items (iv), (v) and (vi) above may not be required to be submitted. 3.2 VariationsWhenever minor variations are made to an article covered by a Certificate of Suitability, the holder of that certificate should apply to the Department to have such variations approved, and where necessary, an endorsement issued. Where variations are such as to constitute a new type of article, application should be made for the issue of a new certificate. The Department's staff will advise on the necessity or otherwise for endorsement of variations and whether a separate Certificate of Suitability will be required. 4. MISCELLANEOUSApplicants should take note of the following provisions of the Electricity (Equipment Safety) Regulation, 1994 relevant to Certificates of Suitability. 4.1 Refusal and Cancellation of Certificates of Suitability and VariationsThe Department may, for any reason, which it considers sufficient:
4.2 Notification of Issue, Refusal or Cancellation of Certificates of VariationsWhen the Department issues or refuses to issue a Certificate of Suitability, endorses or refuses to endorse any variation thereon, cancels a Certificate of Suitability once issued or an endorsed variation, it may appropriately notify an electricity supply authority, an approving authority in another State or such other person as it sees fit. 5. TEST LABORATORIESThe Department will accept test reports from approved testing facilities showing that the article complies with the published specifications. Enquiries regarding alternative testing facilities should be directed to the Department's staff. |
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