Stronger vigilance needed on non-compliant products

The trade in counterfeit and non-compliant products that fail to conform to Australian standards is posing a threat to the sustainability of Australia’s electrical contracting industry, says the CEO of the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA).

Suresh Manickam stated that the industry body has been concerned for some time about the lack of enforcement for businesses distributing non-compliant products and is calling upon stronger action by the government.

“The installation of unsafe, non-compliant electrical equipment can be costly for business and consumers and presents the risk of electrical fire, shocks and property damage,” Manickam said.

“NECA has previously called upon the government to do more to support the testing and measurement of new products entering the market.”

Manickam said more needs to be done following recent of ACCC-issued product recalls, such as Infinity cables and Ecables, which have cost the industry.

“We have been the leaders in supporting product quality and safety initiatives, such as the Does It Comply? campaign, and we really need the government to commit more resources so that a larger number of random batch tests, and more effective enforcement, can be put into place to ensure product quality,” said Manickam.

“Our industry has a sound reputation for upholding safety - we call on the government to inject more funding into compliance, product batch testing and enforcement.

“Measures such as these continue to protect the safety of electrical contractors and consumers,” he said.