New system recommended to ensure electrical equipment safety

The Electrical Safety Office (ESO) is working on a new Electrical Equipment Safety System aimed at eliminating shock, injury and property damage resulting from the sale, supply and use of unsafe electrical equipment.

This system has been recommended by the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council (ERAC), the national body of electrical safety regulators across Australia and New Zealand. The ESO currently hosts the ERAC secretariat function.

ERAC has proposed the new system be underpinned by nationally consistent performance-based legislation in each jurisdiction and comprehensive scheme rules. It contains a mixture of pre-market registration and post-market enforcement.

ERAC’s recommendation followed an extensive review across Australia into current practices which have failed to keep pace with the changing profile of the equipment industry and the rapid explosion of technology. 

The current system was designed to accommodate a marketplace where most electrical equipment was manufactured and/or supplied in Australia.

However the majority of electrical equipment on sale in Australia is now imported from overseas, particularly Asia, while the emergence of internet retail sources such as eBay had also challenged the effectiveness of the system.

Under the system, equipment will be classified in three levels based on risk assessment, (Level 1 – low risk, Level 2 – medium risk and Level 3 – high risk), with regular reviews of the need to reclassify equipment into a more appropriate risk level based on market experience. 

Prior to equipment being placed on the market the recommended system will require that:

• all suppliers of (Level 1, 2 and 3) equipment are registered on a national data base; and
• all equipment classified as Level 3 (high risk) and Level 2 (medium risk) is registered on a national data base.

ERAC says post-market enforcement should be consistent and harmonised across all jurisdictions. Surveillance and enforcement should remain the prime responsibility of state and territory regulatory authorities with national coordination managed via a national database.

Surveillance would be substantially enhanced. The ERAC National Surveillance Plan will include check testing and be strengthened to include audits of certificates of conformance, declarations and underpinning documentation.

Nationally consistent penalties will be introduced for cases where unsafe, unregistered or incorrectly registered equipment is found in the marketplace.

Any individual jurisdiction will be able to act on behalf of all jurisdictions for recalls, bans and when imposing penalties.

It is anticipated that the new system will be in place by 1 July 2011. 

You can download the regulatory impact statement at www.erac.gov.au/news_ersrr.htm.