Regulatory compliance, All Sellers Must Read

[cable_mart]

As an Australian manufacturer and distributor i would like to point out some of the laws which are required to be obeyed by if you are distributiing goods inside australia or from outside of australia in to local customers.

1. Electrical Compliance

All goods that are sold in australia that are electrical in nature must be certified for C-Tick standards, Which means your product must be approved prior to selling it in this country. Penalties start from $1320 per item sold and you may be liable for criminal prosecution under part 4 of the crimes act (deception offences)

Items include: Household electrical goods, Power Tools, Car Entertainment items (stereos,dvd players, screen etc)

2. Telecommunications Compliance.

All items that have the ability to directly or indirectly connect to a public switched telephone network MUST be tested and certified prior to being sold in this country (A-Tick). Penalties start from $1320 per item and up to $13,200 if found to be of commercial quantity. penalties also include being prosecuted by deception offences under the crimes act.

Items include, cabling products, networking products, wireless products, modems/routers etc

Here is a scenario as to why you should never supply illegal goods to customers:

A Customer purchases a toaster off ebay,and the toaster appears to work well. Whilst the customer is away from home, the toaster has an insulation fault and the toaster catches fire due to arcing wires. As a result the customers home burns down.

Fire inspectors find the toaster to be the cause of the fire and the insurance assessors researches the toaster and finds it was a non compliant item. The insurance company refuses to pay the insurance because the customers policy was voided because they were using illegal items.

As a result your customer is out of a home, they now have to sue you as a seller and also take action in the criminal court, you end up losing your assets and possibly do jail time all for a toaster.

on average i am finding between 20-50 sellers a day which are not complying with the relevant laws, The Australian Communications & Media Authority has a form for complaints of non compliance:

http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/equipment-compliance-and-labelling-complaints

In order to learn more about compliance, See www.acma.gov.au or www.erac.gov.au

Help keep australia free of illegal goods, if you see someone distributing illegal items, report them immediately.

[cq_tech]

Correct. There is currently no legislation in this country which imposes any restrictions on private sellers nor prevents them from advertising their used electrical items for sale via any medium they wish.

[thecatspjs]

There are several legislative requirements regarding sale of new and second hand goods that apply to individuals. 

My post above identifies one of them.  There are other requirements that are relevant including sale of banned products and recalled goods.

[3415len]

I don't sell electrical goods , but I wonder why the Australia goverment allow these items to be brought into the country and allowed to be sold on line, knowing very well that there eligal

[emeraldtarpon]

Dave,

this is a direct warning to those that fall under these Govt compliances...why does that irritate you so much???

Is it because this poster is VERY smart and can see the writing on the wall...eg:-this WILL be used against Australian ebay sellers?

Is the OP potentially stifiling ebays next "trick",Dave?

The OP is WAY ahead on this particular issue,isn't he.

[*crikey*mate*]

If they are illegal, then how come international travellers can bring them in and use them in hotels here?

I am reasonably certain that a hotel would not allow their use if it meant forgoing their insurance, whereas most supply converters.

If the actual items are illegal, then why would it be possible to purchase converters?

[thecatspjs]

Manufacturing, Distribution and selling has restrictions.

Use is another issue all together.

[cq_tech]

You misunderstood what I said. I'm not talking about non-compliant, counterfeit, banned, or recalled products, only perfectly legal goods for which private individuals have no further use.

[davewil1964]

---

@emeraldtarpon wrote:

Dave,

this is a direct warning to those that fall under these Govt compliances...why does that irritate you so much???

Is it because this poster is VERY smart and can see the writing on the wall...eg:-this WILL be used against Australian ebay sellers?

Is the OP potentially stifiling ebays next "trick",Dave?

The OP is WAY ahead on this particular issue,isn't he.

---

Because the OP is crying wolf. And stated a generalisation as a specific, and has not provided any legislative basis for the rant.

And just happens to sell this sort of stuff.

[gec2002]

How about these regulations in Victoria (and similiar in other states)

From EnergySafe Victoria

"There are regulations that apply to the supply of electrical equipment and appliances. The requirements set out in the regulations must be followed. A failure to do so is a criminal offence.

• Electricity Safety (Equipment) Regulations 2009
• Part 4 of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 sets out the specific provisions for approval, supply and use of electrical equipment in Victoria."

[essel_emporium]

There is tendency today to go overboard with safety.  Just watched a guy at work tag-and-test everything in the office, and give everything a clean bill of health.  I asked, 'what about the wiring in the walls?'  I got a blank look.  So, if the place burns down because a rat has been nibling wires it kind of undermines the job the tag-and-tester was doing.  No one checks the wiring that no one sees.

Interesting note about the toaster.  Though, the fuse/circuit breaker would probably blow first.  That is, if its been tested to be good.  Oh, we don't tag and test fuses.  Oops.  And nobody puts copper wire in their fuse when they can't find the fuse wire.

Choice gave a stereo amp a bad report on an item.  It was a qulity hifi unit.  It got the bad write up because when they dangled it by the power cable the cable came adrit.  Unsafe they said.  I don't normally carry my electrical products by their power cables.  Perhaps Choce does.