Summary of Certification Content

The standards agency in Australia is the Standards Association of Australia, but in reality, SAA is just a standard setting agency and does not issue product certification certificates. SAA was later renamed as StandardsAustraliaLimited. SAA is an independent company with no direct relationship to the government, but the federal and state governments are members of it.

Introduction to SAA Standards

Australian standards start with 'AS', and joint standards between Australia and New Zealand start with 'AS/NZS'. The standards in Australia and New Zealand are basically consistent with IEC, but there are also some national differences. Australia and New Zealand promote standardization and mutual recognition of certification, and products can be sold in another country as long as they obtain certification from one country.

Certification/Supervisory Authority

Australia is a federal country, and the certification, control, and management of electrical safety and energy consumption requirements are carried out by the regulatory authorities of each state or region in accordance with their own certification procedures. Certificates issued by any state are equally valid in other states/regions without any additional procedures. In addition, QAS (Quality Assurance Services Pty Ltd.), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SAA standard setting agency, is an Australian NCB (National Certification Body), and its certificates have also been recognized in various states or regions, with equal validity.

Product Safety Certification

There is no unified safety certification mark in Australia, and various states or regions have successively stipulated the management methods for electrical products in the form of legislation. Although the names and dates of enactment vary, the content of electrical safety legislation is generally consistent across states or regions. Electrical products are divided into regulated electrical products and non regulated products.

Regulatory electrical products are classified according to AS/NZS4417.2, including electric heating equipment, refrigeration equipment, electric tools, components, etc. The catalog will be published in the government gazette and added according to the actual situation. Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria are the most active in the certification process. Taking Queensland as an example, the Electricity Act 1994 announces detailed regulations for the certification, sale, and use of electrical appliances.

1. Regulated electrical appliances: Regulated electrical appliances must obtain a certificate of approval issued by the monitoring department, and must be labeled with a certificate number. It should be noted that the authentication program is only focused on security, not performance or quality, unless it is related to security. The first letter of the certificate number shows which state or region the certificate was issued from. For example:

Q91610 (Queensland)