There will be no technical support for the EESS Platform from Monday, 23 December 2024 to Sunday, 5 January 2025.

Over the January period should you have EESS Platform issues please contact:

For Certificate Applicants & Consultants – electricalequipmentsafetyenquiries@energysafe.vic.gov.au

For Responsible Supplier & Equipment Registration – eessadmin@oir.qld.gov.au

Recognised External Certification Scheme (RECS)

A company which conducts a scheme for the certification of In-Scope electrical equipment may apply to an Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS) Regulatory Authority (RA) for the scheme to be declared a Recognised External Certification Scheme (RECS). Currently, only Queensland ESO is accepting RECS applications. RECS declared by a participating jurisdiction of the EESS is recognised by all participating jurisdictions.

The application must be made to the RA using an approved form. The application will include an appropriate declaration and be supported by other documentation as required by the RA, demonstrating amongst other things the Certifiers independence, competence, resources and suitability to certify. The certifier must be located in Australia or New Zealand and all relevant certification activities must be conducted in Australia or New Zealand.

The regulator has a review process for consideration of RECS, which includes publishing a submission notice of intention to declare the scheme to be a RECS. The submission notice will provide at least 14 days during which responses to the proposed RECS must be accepted and considered by the regulator.

The term of the declared scheme is for up to five years and may have conditions applied by the RA.

Whilst the RECS deals directly with Certificate Applicants and issues certificates to Certificate Applicants (and charges the Certificate Applicant directly for this service), the RECS is acting to meet the requirements of the RA that accredited the RECS, and the RECS must always ensure their primary focus is meeting the requirements of the RA.  This may mean there will be times when the RECS may not meet the needs of the Certificate Applicant if that would be in conflict with the requirements of the RA.

Among other requirements, a RECS must be independent of the Responsible Supplier and any party involved in the manufacture, importation, consultation or sale of the electrical equipment being certifying. RECS must follow the Equipment Safety Rules and any other requirements issued by the RA or any information notices or guidance documents issued by EESS regulators.

RECS are not to be agents or activists for manufacturers and importers or applicants for a certificate. They do not lobby on behalf of certificate holders or engage in activities to justify a product should be certified if it has not met the requirements for certification in the equipment safety rules or any other requirements issued by the RA or any information notices or guidance documents issued by EESS regulators (activities such as these are the role of a ‘consultant’ and a RECS is not independent if they act as a consultant).

The role of a RECS is to:

  • only issue certificates to current relevant electrical safety standard(s) for the equipment type being certified, and where they have fully compliant test reports to the safety standard(s);
  • enable independent verification of compliance documentation to the level and expectation of the RA who accredited the RECS;
  • decide if the documentation is sufficient to show compliance to the requirements of the Equipment Safety Rules, any other requirements issued by the RA or any information notices or guidance documents issued by EESS regulators;
  • to determine the equipment is electrically safe; and
  • issue the certificate attesting to that decision.

The RECS acts to ensure equipment that does not meet the equipment safety rules or any other requirements issued by the RA or any information notices or guidance documents issued by EESS regulators does not obtain a certificate.

Note: A RECS may act as an Authorised Representative for a Responsible Supplier to whom they have issued a certificate (the Certificate Applicant is the Responsible Supplier as registered on the EESS platform as a Responsible Supplier and Certificate Applicant). This is only able to occur if the Responsible Supplier has invited the RECS to perform this function and would be, for example, to register the equipment on the EESS platform to the Responsible Supplier on behalf of the Responsible Supplier on the same day they have issued the certificate (this process is not seen as ‘consultancy’).

Note: RECS cannot make the initial Responsible Supplier declaration, only an Authorised Officer from the Responsible Supplier can do that.

Recognised External Certification Schemes (RECS)

Note 1: All certificate details issued by a RECS in accordance with the Equipment Safety Rules and any other requirements issued by the RA or any information notices or guidance documents issued by EESS regulators are uploaded to the EESS platform.

Note 2: As some RECS have accreditation for other schemes, you need to specify you are seeking a certificate issued under the certifiers RECS accreditation and the EESS.