New laws for electrical equipment

Queensland has recently passed new laws to help protect consumers from unsafe electrical equipment.

Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office (ESO) has taken the lead role by consulting with industry and other states and territories, and developing model laws which other states have agreed to follow.

The new laws will help ensure that electrical equipment offered for sale complies with relevant safety standards, and that any unsafe electrical equipment is removed from the market quickly and effectively.

The new laws place obligations for safety on a responsible supplier, who is the first point of sale in Australia and New Zealand (i.e. the importer or manufacturer).

Another key feature will be a national database where all suppliers and some higher risk equipment must be registered prior to equipment being offered for sale. This database will allow equipment to be easily traced to its supplier, and act as a gateway to the legal supply of electrical equipment in Australia and New Zealand. Electricians and retailers will also be able to use this database to check that the products they select for their customers are safe.

Under the new laws, the Regulatory Compliance Mark (or RCM) will be used as the single marking indicating electrical equipment safety. Once the new laws are fully implemented across Australia and New Zealand, electricians and retailers will be able to tell at a glance if equipment meets the new laws by looking for the RCM.

This will take a few years to implement however the RCM is already in use by some suppliers of electrical equipment and will increasingly become the single mark to look for in determining safety.

The RCM Mark: