Getting an electrical product approved before selling.

[misslilnik1000]

Hi everyone, I'm just wondering if anyone here has any experience in getting imported electrical products approved by australian standards before selling them?

Im gathering it is fairly expensive, but does anyone know a rough cost and how hard the process is?

I have also seen this sellers item which i can't imagine would be legal to sell in Australia? 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-POWER-SUPPLY-ADAPTOR-CABLE-for-Nintendo-Wii-/270931220651?pt=AU_Video_Game_Accessories&hash=item3f14c258ab&_uhb=1

From what i know any powered Australian product has to have insulated pins, not even the US to AU adaptor provided in this listing has insulated pins.

Most of the products i am looking at selling i would easily be able to provide a legal australian power supply with it, would this mean i would still need to get the product itself tested?

There are a few items i would like to sell similar to this listing however, which need specific chargers and are close to impossible to source with australian plugs already on them, so if i was to provide one with a good quality US to AU adaptor with insulated pins would this be sufficient? Would i still be able to get this product tested or would it be completely disregarded because it doesn't have the australian plug as standard?

Thanks 🙂

[bookmanx500]

Contact the Elactrical Regulatory Authorities Council.  Their web site -  erac.gov.au.
They should be able to give you all the info. you require.

Barrie

[misslilnik1000]

Thanks Barrie, thats been very helpful information. Iv had a good read up on the erac.gov.au website. But i guess what I'm really trying to find out is from other peoples experience, what i should expect the cost of getting something approved, this information if very hard to find.

I also don't want to try and get a product approved that could be possibly illegal and get knocked back (after already forking out the fees), surely someone one here knows if it is legal to sell something with a us plug with a good quality converter?

[cq_tech]

Well if it isn't, then I (and a lot of others) are in big trouble because almost every electrical item I buy from China comes with a US or EU plug and an Australian adapter. The items are all rated to work up to 240VAC@50Hz. Are they illegal? I doubt it, because customs lets them in.

Is the item you're considering importing built to run on 240V or the 110V that is used in the US, as that's where your real issue will lie?

[misslilnik1000]

Hi cq, Yes my device is 110-240v compatible. I did read up somewhere though that if the Australian plug does not have insulated pins then this does not meet australian electrical standard and is illegal to sell. Which means all these cheap US to AU converters on ebay would be illegal as they aren't insulated.

So i guess thats why i am worried that maybe it could possibly also be illegal if it doesn't have a australian plug standard?

There are many hong kong sellers selling power supplies and adaptors without this insulation, which I'm fairly confident is illegal as it doesn't meet australian electrical standards. Obviously it's a bit difficult to control what overseas business are selling to Australia, but i wouldn't want to risk it within Australia. I have managed to source a good quality US to AU converter that has this insulation, but at the same time i don't know if that is sufficient or wether the product needs to have the australian plug already. I don't want to waste my time getting a product like this approved just to lose the admission fee and be told it has to have an attached Aussie plug.

[putney32]

-------, but at the same time i don't know if that is sufficient or wether the product needs to have the australian plug already. I don't want to waste my time getting a product like this approved just to lose the admission fee and be told it has to have an attached Aussie plug.

so what you are saying is that you want information, but you are not prepared to pay for that legal opinion, because it may not be what you want to hear???

sorry I thought people paid for that legal opinion in order to get the RIGHT OPINION, not just some hearsay from an internet chat site

?:|

[misslilnik1000]

Putney i don't think thats what I'm saying at all. Any electrical product that is imported and isn't already certified in Australia has to be certified and marked before selling, that is a fact that i know.

I just thought someone might know what is legal to sell and what isn't. Getting a product certified isn't just a legal opinion it is a mark to say the product has been tested and what is required to sell the product.. Obviously if that product is clearly not a legal product by Australian standards by a long shot then there would be no point getting it certified hence not selling the product at all.

I don't know wether my product is legal or not, i just thought someone might, considering so many sellers on here are selling products with plug converters. Clearly if no body knows the answer then no one is actually getting their products certified which is what they are required to be doing by law.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

. . .  Any electrical product that is imported and isn't already certified in Australia has to be certified and marked before selling, that is a fact that i know.

simple, by your own standard if the product you are intending to sell isn't marked it isn't legal to sell.

[retrogeekaustralia]

exactly, although what it sounds like you are trying to say is, why bother asking for help if i have to get it certified anyway right?

Well if the product is so obviously against Australian standards then there would be no point certifying OR selling it it in the first place. THIS is what im trying to find out, whether my product has any chance at all of even being regarding as compliant...

Going by this recent post http://community.ebay.com.au/topic/Buying/Electrical-Compliance-Selling/500165391

If this in fact is correct, then there would be no point in even thinking about selling OR getting the product tested/marked for compliance.

I was hoping it wasn't illegal as i have seen so many people selling products like this, but i didn't think it would be legal - that is was i was trying to find out.

[gizmoclearance]

Good Question

I once imported some electrical goods but very soon I realized anything that plugs into wall power  point should be certified beforehand

However I doubt most ebay sellers would bother doing that because you have to compete with overseas sellers who are only responsible for their local authority

the question is, if the products hare ROHS or EU certified, do they have to go through Australian Authority again?