Electrical trader fined for safety breaches

Port Macquarie trader Clare Maree Alexander, director of C.M. Analysis trading as G Warehouse, has been ordered to pay fines and costs of $4662 by the Port Macquarie District Court for selling unapproved and unmarked LED electrical products.

In October 2011, Fair Trading investigators purchased four LED power supplies from the G Warehouse online store to examine for compliance with the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act. The Fair Trading examination found that two of the LED products failed to have the mandatory approval markings and two had no safety approval.

Under the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act, certain electrical products must be manufactured and tested to the Australian Standard; they must be issued with a Certificate of Approval and marked in accordance with the Australian Standard, prior to being offered for sale.

Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said Alexander was originally convicted on 13 March 2012 and lodged a severity appeal with the District Court that she later withdrew on 4 June.

Stowe said the law exists to make certain that electrical products are designed and manufactured to a specific safety standard to ensure they will not cause electric shock, injury or death, or fire damage to property.

“Unapproved products can be extremely dangerous as there is no evidence they have been tested and found to be in proper working order,” he said.

“Fair Trading officers regularly inspect the marketplace and can issue on-the-spot penalties of $500 per offence for the sale of unmarked and unapproved electrical products.”

Under the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act, traders caught selling unapproved, unmarked or non-compliant electrical articles can result in penalties of up to $82,500 and/or two years’ imprisonment for an individual or $825,000 for a corporation.