A four-month NSW Fair Trading compliance campaign across metropolitan Sydney has uncovered more than 300 non-compliant electrical products and seen retailers fined more than $9,000.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Griffin said nine Sydney retailers were issued with a total of 18 penalty notices over the course of the campaign, which ran from April to July.

“The results of NSW Fair Trading’s electrical safety inspections are a reminder to consumers to make sure the products they carry have the appropriate approval marks,” Mr Griffin said.

“One repeat offender at Westfield Parramatta was fined $3,500 after it was found with 17 non-compliant items.

“These included battery chargers, massagers, hair strengtheners, table lamps and children’s lamps,” he said.

“In all, 311 non-compliant goods were detected during the campaign, which saw nearly 7,200 items inspected at 356 outlets across Sydney.

“These non-compliant articles could be extremely dangerous because there was no evidence they have been tested and found to be in proper working order.”

Mr Griffin said 23 businesses were also issued with warning letters.

The NSW Fair trading website contains photographs of some of the offending articles. All electrical items for sale in NSW are required to carry approval marks to demonstrate they comply with Australian Standards.

Consumers who purchase non-compliant items should return them to the retailer for a refund or contact NSW Fair Trading.

Under the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004, the sale of unapproved, unmarked or non-compliant electrical articles can result in penalties as high as $82,500 and/or two years’ imprisonment for an individual or sole trader and $825,000 for a corporation.

The NSW Government last year increased on-the-spot penalties for the sale of unmarked and unapproved electrical goods from $200 to $500 per offence.

Educational material regarding the law and obligations of sellers of electrical articles is available at this website.”

A total of 186 items found for sale on shelves were not approved for sale in Australia.

Details of the penalty notices:

• Parramatta – seven unapproved items were detected in one store. This was the store’s second offence and it was issued with seven penalty notices totalling $3,500
• Blacktown – a mobility store was found to be selling an unmarked AC/DC adaptor for a battery charger. This was the company’s second offence. A $500 infringement notice was issued
• Cabramatta – several unapproved AC/DC adaptors were found in one store. It was the store’s second offence and it was issued with two penalty notices totalling $1,000.
• Auburn – a store found to be selling an unapproved lamp was issued with a formal warning notice for a first offence. The unapproved item was supplied by a Melbourne company. As it was the supplying company’s second offence a $500 penalty notice was issued
• Bankstown – a store found to be selling an unapproved table lamp was issued with a $500 penalty notice as it was a third offence
• Fairfield – a store was offering a plug-in TV aerial that had an unapproved Chinese plug, while another store was found to be selling an unmarked table lamp. Each was issued with a $500 penalty notice
• Campbelltown – a store was found to be selling unapproved display cabinets with electric lights and was issued with four penalty notices totalling $2,000.

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