Certification (General)
A person may apply for Australian certification of electrical equipment to an Australian Certifier under the Recognised External Certification Scheme (RECS) or a Regulatory Authority (RA).
A Certificate is issued by a RECS or RA to claim that an item of equipment has been independently assessed and shown to meet the relevant standards and is electrically safe.
There are two types of certificates:
- Certificate of Conformity: for In-Scope electrical equipment risk Level 3.
- Certificate of Suitability (voluntary): for In-Scope electrical equipment Level 1 or Level 2.
Note: All Certificates must be issued in accordance with the Equipment Safety Rules and for RECS any other requirement of the regulator that has accredited the RECS.
A person owning a Certificate of Conformity or Certificate of Suitability is identified as a Certificate Holder or in the EESS platform, called a ‘Certificate Applicant’. The Certificate Applicant is not required to be an Australian or New Zealand entity. But if they are also a Responsible Supplier in the EESS they must be an Australian or New Zealand entity.
Note: A Certificate Applicant is not necessarily a Responsible Supplier, and the certificate alone does not give authority to sell electrical equipment in Australia or to mark the product with the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM). In addition to the certificate, electrical equipment must be registered in the EESS by a Responsible Supplier and mark the product with the RCM in accordance to AS/NZS 4417.1 and AS/NZS 4417.2 Marking of electrical products to indicate compliance with regulations – General rules for use of the mark.
Once a Certificate is issued, the details of the product (In-scope level, relevant safety standard, tradenames, models, ratings, issue date, expiry dates, relevant technical data, nameplate image, product image examples, etc.) are uploaded onto the EESS platform. To verify your product has a Certificate, click here for the public search of certificates.
Only certificates uploaded to the EESS platform can be used by Registered Responsible Suppliers for the registration of Level 3 and Level 2 equipment (and can be used for voluntary registration of Level 1 equipment) through the EESS Platform.
Certificate Applicants have the ability to lock their certificate with a password. It is an expectation that Responsible Suppliers have a working relationship with the Certificate Applicant.
To gain Certification for an electrical product:
An application for certification to one of the Certifiers includes, but not limited to, the following (for details of required documentation see the Equipment Safety Rules and information notices and guidance documents issued by EESS regulators and listed on this website):
- A test report(s) from an approved testing entity showing compliance to the relevant standard for the product with specific technical information included (including but not limited to – temperature test details – temperature results and supply voltage and loadings; abnormal test results – temperature results and supply voltage and loadings, all components listed with reference to certifications or test reports as required; Ignitability and flammability test – full detail of all components, as listed in components section, with full test data for all glow wire or needle flame tests conducted):
- The report is to include colour images showing the internal and external construction, shape and features of the equipment, component details and orientation (photos to include overall image of the product);
- Images of each nameplate of the Trade name and Model of equipment being certified (preferably in the test report but if not in the test report supplied, separately with a suitable declaration from the manufacturer attesting the nameplate is one that they will fix to the equipment);
- Technical documentation describing the item and details of any variants (other models);
- Instruction for the safe use of the equipment;
- Other documents as required by the certifier and as per the Equipment Safety Rules or other documents as issued by EESS regulators; and
- The required application fee.
Note: While not mandatory to be supplied with the application, a sample of the equipment itself may be requested by the certifier, in which case it must be provided.
Contact the certifier of your choice to determine process for making an application for certification and their fee structure.
Note: Certificate Applicants for a certificate may need to engage the services of a consultant (who meets the definition of a Suitably Qualified Person in the Equipment Safety Rules) to assist them in compiling appropriate documents required to make an application for certification. This would be the situation where the Certificate Applicant for certification is not aware of the requirements or technical detail of information required to be supplied to obtain a certificate.