89% of electrical contractors put safety before price

The awareness of the dangers of using non-compliant products has jumped from 28% to 89% in just a year, according to the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) and Voltimum. And what’s more, the awareness of there being a new regulator, the Electrical Equipment Safety System, to manage the investigation process is now at over 75% - up from zero over the same period.

“Safety is our biggest concern, and knowing that NECA electrical contractors are so aware of the issues associated with non-compliant products, and at the same time aware of where to report anything they see being sold that doesn’t meet Australian standards, means this initiative is even more successful than we expected,” says Suresh Manickam, NECA CEO. Around 63% of electrical contractors realise they can be liable for any product that does not meet Australian Standards.

The majority felt that the Does it Comply? initiative would lead to: more awareness, greater safety (particularly at home), fewer non-compliant products on the market and better standards across Australia, and many also felt that “the fines are not heavily enough” to be a real deterrent. The Does it Comply? campaign is now in its second year and the current marketing drive is to get even more contractors to sign ‘the pledge’.

Over 400 people have participated in our two surveys: 51% of the respondents have 1-5 employees, 17% have 6-10 employees and 13% have 61+ employees.