Technical Requirements
Harmonisation:
Australia and New Zealand have harmonised many of the regulatory requirements. EMC can be considered to be fully regulated for example. Radiocommunications less so. 900 MHz and some 5 GHz WLAN bands are common examples. Hence the need for the R-NZ marking.
Electrical safety is also largely harmonised but what must be understood is that electrical safety is not administered at the federal level in Australia. NSW retains their regime whereas Victoria and Queensland, for example, have moved to the ERAC EESS regime.
The separation of EMC and electrical safety administrations, with both using the same RCM approval mark but with different categorisation of devices within scope, for example, has caused confusion for many.
Background:
In Australia, the ACMA is responsible for regulating customer equipment, customer cabling, electrical and electronic devices, vehicles and devices with internal combustion engines under the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992.
The ACMA has four labelling notices that impose obligations on suppliers, including the requirement to comply with Technical Standards, maintain records and apply a label (compliance mark) to the device.
Affixing a compliance mark to a device is a visible indication that the device meets the requirements of the relevant labelling notice.
The Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council (ERAC) Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS) covers state and territory electrical equipment safety arrangements for 'In-Scope Electrical Equipment'. NSW Fair Trading, through the Energy and Utilities Unit of the Home Building Service, administers a compulsory pre-sale approval process for specific types of electrical articles known as ‘declared articles’ and a voluntary approval process for all other electrical articles referred to as ‘non-declared articles’.
In New Zealand, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is responsible for regulating electrical and electronic devices, vehicles and devices with internal combustion engines under the Radiocommunications Act 1989.
This regime covers aspects of devices related to their radiocommunications and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) functions, imposing obligations on suppliers, including the requirement to comply with technical standards, maintain records and apply a label (compliance mark) to the device.
Technical Standards vs. Industry Standards:
A product must meet the requirements of the applicable ACMA technical standard/s that apply when the product is first supplied to the market. The ACMA technical standards are legislative instruments that directly reference technical performance requirements contained in industry standards. Industry standards include the likes of EN 55032, AS/NZS 4268, EN 300 328, FCC 15.247, etc.
So what is noteworthy, is that it is often not necessary to have test reports to an AS/NZS standard. For EMC, test reports to a European Norm standard such as EN 55022 may be used. Similarly, for Radio, BlueTooth and Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 series), test reports to EN 300 328 or FCC requirements 47 CFR Part 15.247 may be used.
For further information, please contact Braco Compliance Ltd.