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For all the latest energy safety news visit www.esv.vic.gov.au
Autumn/Winter 2018
energysafe issue 50
Electrical equipment approvals
in Australia — how we got here
By Jean-Marie Ntahonkiriye, Compliance
Officer, Electrical Equipment and Safety
Since the earliest days of electricity supply
in Australia, supply authorities have had
the responsibility of checking the safety of
electrical installations and the equipment
connected to their supply systems.
The first introduction of a scheme to control
the safety of appliances and equipment at the
point-of-sale came in 1934, when approvals
legislation was enacted in Victoria.
New South Wales (NSW) introduced
comparable legislation in 1935 with Queensland
following in 1938, South Australia in 1940,
Tasmania in 1944 and Western Australia in 1946.
The Electrical Approvals Board
In Victoria, the Electrical Approvals Board
was constituted to give effect to the approvals
legislation relating to the approval of electrical
appliances and accessories to ensure safe
operation in service.
The Electrical Approvals Board consisted
of a Chairman appointed by the State Electricity
Commission of Victoria (SEC) and six members
representing supply undertakers (municipal
electrical supply authorities), suppliers and
manufacturers of electrical equipment, electrical
contractors, fire authorities and other stakeholders.
The Board made recommendations to the
SEC with respect to granting, withholding and
withdrawing approvals of any prescribed article,
and acted on behalf of the Victorian Chief Electrical
Inspector in the acceptance of non-prescribed
articles.
In 1935, Approvals Regulations setting out
fees to be paid and Prescribing Orders covering
certain electrical appliances and accessories
were gazetted under the provisions of the State
Electricity Commission Act.
The 1935, NSW’s scheme was a relatively
simple one operating on a guarantee basis.
Manufacturers or importers who gave an
undertaking to comply with Standards Association
of Australia (SAA) specifications were allocated
a registered guarantee number, which could be
marked on compliant articles. Permission to use
this number could be withdrawn if the articles were
found not to comply.
The legislation in each state differed. Each
state operated within its own jurisdiction and there
was no reciprocity between them. As a result, the
procedure for obtaining approval to sell goods
throughout Australia was cumbersome and time
consuming.
In the post World War II era, the surge in the
variety of electrical appliances and equipment
made it difficult to regulate the supply of electrical
equipment throughout Australia.
Without a standard approach, issues
pertaining to electrical safety were a growing
problem.
A uniform approvals scheme
In 1949, a committee sponsored by the
Electrical Supply Association of Australia (ESAA)
determined that a draft uniform approvals
scheme should be prepared. Subsequently,
it commissioned the Victorian Chief Electrical
Inspector and the Supervising Engineer from the
Electricity Authority of New South Wales (EANSW)
to undertake the task.
Their report embodied eight main principles to
form the basis of a uniform approvals scheme.
1. Where the use of electrical articles may
present a danger to the public, they must be
prescribed.
2. Prescribed articles are required to comply
with published specifications and all states
should agree that these specifications shall be
the Approval and Test Specifications (A&TS)
published by the SAA.
3. Prescribed articles of any class may only be
allowed to be offered for sale if the sample is
first examined, tested, and found to comply
with the published specifications.
4. There will be mutual recognition of approval
where applicants are required to submit
articles for test and examination in one state
only – preferably the state of manufacture or
import. These are then automatically legalised
for sale in other states with a minimum of
formalities.
5. Prescribed articles are marked to indicate
which state delivered the original approval.
6. If at any time a state chooses to withdraw the
original approval, other regulatory authorities
should agree to accept their decision and take
the required steps to implement similar action.
7. Ensure that administrative procedure is as
simple as possible.
8. The interstate committee with representatives
from state regulatory authorities achieve
uniformity in their practice.
In 1952, all states agreed to become parties
to a uniform approvals scheme to endorse
the principles in the report, and to promulgate
new approval regulations in line with the model
regulations.
A new committee, the Regulatory Authorities
Approvals Committee (RAAC) was formed to
oversee the scheme and was placed under
the Chairmanship of a member from the ESAA
executive and the secretariat function was
provided by the EANSW.
A major development of the RAAC was the
introduction of a professed ‘single certificate
arrangement’ in 1958.
With this arrangement, once receiving an
approval from their ‘home’ state, a manufacturer
or importer could market its approved article
throughout Australia without needing to approach
other states.
In other words, an approval issued in any
one state was automatically recognised for sale
throughout Australia up until it was withdrawn by
the issuing state.
Legislation across all states was similar,
with each contributing to the prescription of
articles that may not be sold or offered for sale,
unless approved and marked with a certified
approval marking.
Continue reading on page 25.
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