A Tick testing and Approval, ACMA Compliance Folders, New Zealand Telepermit, Testing for Australia and New Zealand

AU/NZ Approvals (Safety, MEPS, A-Tick, C-Tick, Telepermit)

Safety Approval services

Austest has provided clients with literally hundreds of safety approval certificates for prescribed items (mandatory approval certificates) through to certificates of suitability (voluntary approval certs).

Each Australian state has enacted electrical safety legislation to ensure electrical equipment that is hired or sold is electrically safe. Liaison between Australia’s eight States and Territories and New Zealand is performed by ERAC (the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council), while it is accepted that an approval gained in 1 State/Territory is acceptable for sale in all other States/Territories. Examples of electrical safety approval markings are Qxxxx (Queensland), Vxxxx(Victoria), NSWxxxx (New South Wales).

Mandatory safety approval is required for a range of products listed in Appendix E of AS/NZS 4417.2 (Marking of electrical products to indicate compliance with regulations - Specific requirements for electrical safety regulatory applications)

Some examples of prescribed electrical equipment:

Austest performs testing of many of these products. If you don’t have an existing test report, we can perform full compliance testing to the Australian and often international versions of the relevant safety standard. If you have a partial test report, such as a CB report or other endorsed test report, we can perform partial testing to the Australian specific deviations. If your existing Australian safety approval has expired, we will review your previous report and provide top-up testing to latest amendments to your product specific standard, often avoiding the need for full product retesting.

If you have an existing report covering all the Australian test requirements, we can use your report for electrical approval submission and obtain a safety approval certificate on your behalf. Note that unlike C-Tick (EMC) or A-Tick (Telecommunications) approvals, Australian safety approval certificates can be issued in the name of an overseas company.

We are able to provide electrical safety certificates in 4-5 days (subject to compliance and required documentation). This 1 week turn-around for certificates comes at NO ADDITIONAL COST.

A-Tick , C-Tick, ACMA Compliance Folders

Austest provides comprehensive local compliance folder services to ACMA A-Tick and C-Tick requirements.

Electrical and electronic products sold in Australia are required to be marked with the C-Tick mark and either the ACMA supplier code or other marking options only available to Australian entities. As only Australian entities may lodge a request for permission to use the C-Tick (or A-Tick), we offer our services as an Australian agent and allow the use of our ACMA supplier code for international customers.

In the case of telecommunications products, the item must be marked with the A-Tick logo and identifier.

For wireless devices including 802.11X, the C-Tick marking is required.

In the case of devices with mixed technologies such as a wireless ADSL modem, the A-Tick logo takes precedence.

Using our dedicated Approvals Project Tracker, all compliance materials are held on-line for easy download DoC's and other approval documents. The system also supports the secure uploads of supporting documents such as schematics, manuals and reports that may be required. These documents can be accessed 24/7, allowing engineers or project managers to report at any stage, the progress of their approvals.

Telepermit, NZ RSM

With a registered business in New Zealand for holding New Zealand Telecom Telepermits and NZ RSM (Radio Spectrum Management) Compliance Folders for RF and electronic devices, we offer international customers the use of our NZ RSM supplier code (Z #). All New Zealand approval documentation is held on-line for ease of downloading of telepermits or Supplier Declarations.

ACMA Certification Body

Austest-BABT (AB) Certification Services is an ACMA appointed Certification Body under subsection 410 of the Telecommunications Act.

To ensure confidence in complying with current ACMA standards, Austest-BABT (AB) Certification Services can assess:

• Test reports issued to previous versions of relevant standards and/or International equivalents;
• Reports where full testing has not been performed;
• Test reports which are not compliant and provide clients with a Certification Statement suitable to claim compliance.

For holders of AUSTEL permits or Telecom authorisations for customer equipment who wish to use the A-Tick mark on their products, the use of a Certification Body provides an economical alternative to full compliance re-testing to today's standards.

Where all information required by the application is supplied, the majority of statements can be issued in 2 weeks or less, providing the assessment finds the item compliant to ACMA requirements.

MEPS (Minimum Energy Performance Standards)

With an increasing emphasis towards the reduction of business and consumer energy use and by association, our carbon footprint, the Australian (Federal) Government has enacted a range of mandatory minimum energy efficiency levels for a range of products. Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) cover the following products, with more to be added over the coming years:

• refrigerators and freezers
• mains pressure electric storage water heaters
• small mains pressure electric storage water heaters and low pressure and heat exchanger types
• three phase electric motors (0.73kW to <185kW)
• single phase air conditioners (revision proposed for 2010)
• three phase air conditioners up to 65kW cooling capacity (revision proposed for 2010)
• ballasts for linear fluorescent lamps
• linear fluorescent lamps –
• commercial refrigeration (self contained and remote systems)
• Incandescent Lamps –
• Compact Fluorescent Lamps - from November 2009
• external power supplies
• Set top boxes
• Commercial Building Chillers
• Close Control Air Conditioners
• transformers and electronic step-down converters for ELV lamps – (proposed for October 2010)

Apart from testing to a number of the above product standards, Austest provides a MEPS product registration service for a nominal fee. Austest has also prepared a number of “Fact Sheets� explaining MEPS and other Australian approval requirements, contact us for a free copy.