Declared articles

If you are selling declared articles, you should, prior to accepting delivery of goods:

• insist that your supplier provides you with a copy of an ‘Australian’ Certificate of Approval
• confirm that an approval mark appears on the electrical articles and accessories.

Overseas Certificates of Approval and approval marks are not acceptable in Australia.

All other non-declared electrical articles must be safe to use and must comply with minimum safety requirements as set out in the Electricity Safety (Consumer Safety) Regulation 2006 and the requirements of selected clauses of Australian and New Zealand standard AS/NZ 3820: 1998 Essential safety requirements for low voltage electrical equipment.

Fair Trading investigators visit suppliers at regular intervals to inspect electrical goods being sold and can take action to prosecute suppliers selling unapproved, unmarked or non-compliant declared electrical articles. The current maximum penalty under the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 is $825,000 or 2 years imprisonment. Fair Trading can also prohibit suppliers selling any electrical articles which are unsafe and can require a public recall of unsafe articles already sold.

The following documents have been developed to assist traders seeking to have an electrical article approved for sale in NSW. View or download in PDF format:

• Explanatory notes relating to the approval of electrical appliances and equipment requirements for sale in NSW (size: 630k)
• Application form to sell electrical appliances and equipment in NSW (size: 76k)