Information for Certificate Holders/ Applicants

A person owning a Certificate of Conformity or Certificate of Suitability is the ‘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. A Responsible Supplier does not need to own the certificate (or be the Certificate Applicant), just have access and authority from the holder to use it.

A Certificate of Conformity for In-Scope electrical equipment risk level 3 is a certificate issued by a Recognised External Certification Scheme (RECS) or a Regulatory Authority (RA) who is a participating jurisdiction in the EESS. A Certificate of Conformity is a statement through an independent review of evidence of compliance to the relevant standard, that the equipment type is electrically safe.

A Certificate of Suitability issued by a RECS or RA is a voluntary certificate for In-Scope electrical equipment Level 1 or Level 2. Certificates of Suitability, while voluntary, make registering equipment easier for risk levels 1 or 2. This assists the Responsible Supplier compiling suitable documentation to show they meet the safety requirements.

All certificates listed on the EESS platform are issued in accordance with the Equipment Safety Rules, and for RECS any other requirement of the regulator that has accredited the RECS.

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 a product has a certificate, click here for the public search of certificates.

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, the electrical equipment must be registered in the EESS by a Registered Responsible Supplier and be mark the product with the RCM in accordance to the 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.

The Responsible Supplier must have permission from the Certificate Applicant to use the certificate for the purpose of registration in the EESS platform.

Note: Certificate Applicants have the ability to lock individual certificates with a password. It is an expectation that a responsible supplier will have a working relationship with the certificate applicant.

During the registration process in the EESS, the Responsible Supplier enters the certificate number (of a certificate registered on the EESS platform), making an electronic link to that certificate.

A Responsible Supplier is required to hold or have access to a Certificate of Conformity for each In-Scope electrical equipment Level 3 or family of Level 3 electrical equipment that it offers for sale and must produce it upon demand. If they are an importer and not the manufacturer, they should also have adequate technical information available in their technical construction file to verify the equipment they are importing is the equipment related to the certificate (and be able to use that information to verify each shipment of equipment remains unchanged from the certified and registered equipment).