Tested to Australian Standards, in Australia

With so many products of varying quality competing for the same market, how can a buyer in Australia or New Zealand differentiate between an electrical item that has been Tested in Australia to Australian standards, with one tested by a non accredited overseas lab or in many cases, not at all ?

Austest Laboratories, the largest safety, EMC, Telecommunications and Environmental testing company in Australia, has released the “Australian tested product” mark, free to all clients who have submitted products for compliance testing.  The mark is aimed to show to consumers, which importers and manufacturers have committed to meeting Australian Standards performed under an accredited testing regime.

“We’re tired of seeing sub-standard products in the market, reviewing foreign test reports from labs that clearly have no idea what they are doing, and watching local manufacturers and importers losing market share to cheap imported products that clearly fail to meet minimum standards for electrical safety and EMC” states Martin Garwood, Managing Director of Austest Labs. “This is our way of helping our clients demonstrate to consumers, their commitment to ensuring products they sell, meet Australian Standards”.

We’ve also witnessed an increase in safety recall notices issued by the various State regulators.  In some instances, these can be directly traced back to a lack of understanding or interpretation of AS/NZS standards by overseas laboratories, which can in turn impact upon the compliance status of a product and ultimately its safety.   Product liability ultimately rests with the supplier.

The mark can be used on products tested to the applicable regulatory requirements, be they electrical safety and/or EMC, Telecommunications, Environmental and Energy Efficiency. Ideal locations for the mark would be on packaging visible to the consumer at the time of purchase, and/or on product marketing brochures.

There is no fee for the use of the mark by Austest clients.  A basic terms and conditions document is required to be signed before use of the mark, which can be obtained from Austest Laboratories. The mark can be applied to any products tested with Austest Labs from June 2008.