Published: 18 December 2014
Category: Industry News
NSW Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox today warned retailers not to chase the quick buck by selling unsafe products, following a Christmas decorations and electrical compliance blitz across Sydney.
“NSW Fair Trading officers have been out in force over the past few weeks conducting their annual Christmas Lights Compliance program in the Sydney metropolitan area and online stores,” Mr Mason-Cox said.
“As part of those inspections, more than 60 shops were visited and about 15,000 products, such as Christmas trees with electric lights, decorations and other electrical appliances, were checked to ensure that they comply with safety standards.
“Nine different products, amounting to a total of 469 items were found to be non-compliant. “These included Christmas lights, massage and hair care appliances and power supplies.’’
“These items have been removed from sale and NSW Fair Trading will investigate the retailers selling these non-compliant products with a view to issuing penalty infringement notices or taking prosecution action.’’
Mr Mason-Cox said this particular program focused on pop-up shops, which normally surfaced in the lead up to Christmas, as well as internet sites such as eBay and Gumtree.
“Many of the appliances found to be non-compliant did not have the approved safety labelling,’’ he said.
“Whenever you are buying a declared electrical appliance, you should look for the approval number, also known as an approval mark.
“I urge consumers to buy Christmas gifts from reputable outlets with good refund and return policies that comply with the Australian Consumer Law.’’
Traders caught selling unmarked and unapproved electrical goods can be issued with penalties of $500 per offence/per product.
For serious or repeat offences, traders also risk prosecution where penalties exist of up to $825,000 for a corporation or $82,500 and/or two years imprisonment for an individual.
Since July, NSW Fair Trading has inspected more than 2000 stores. More than 2700 electrical products were checked and 823 items were found to be non-compliant, resulting in 19 penalty notices being issued.
Mr Mason-Cox said that due to NSW Fair Trading’s stringent compliance activities over recent years, there had been a significant reduction in the number of unsafe and non-compliant electrical articles in the marketplace.
“This is great news,’’ Mr Mason-Cox said. “ It shows that our highly visible presence in the marketplace in the lead up to Christmas and throughout the year is paying off.’’
“We are working with retailers to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities to sell products which meet the requirements of the Electrical (Consumer Safety) Act 2014.
“All electrical goods sold in NSW must meet the requirements under this legislation covering the distribution of safe electrical appliances and other electrical goods.’’
The Electrical (Consumer Safety) Act 2014 declares 56 separate types of electrical articles, which means that these types must be certified and appropriately marked prior to sale in NSW.
NSW Fair Trading will continue the Christmas Lights Compliance program into December monitoring Christmas pop-up shops.
Visit our website for details about electrical labelling.
