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C3The RCM mark

The Regulatory Compliance Mark, and what sits behind it

The Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) is the single mark that shows household electrical equipment meets Australia’s electrical safety scheme and the communications regulator’s labelling rules; under the EESS, in-scope equipment must not be sold without it. Behind the mark sits the Electrical Equipment Safety System, with a public register of suppliers and products, while New South Wales runs its own approval scheme.

General information, quoted from Australian electrical safety regulators. It is not advice about the wiring or equipment in any particular home; the regulator in your state sets the rules that apply to you.

One mark, two sets of rules

The scheme’s own website describes the RCM as a trade mark belonging to the electrical regulators (the Regulatory Authorities, or RAs) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). It stands for compliance with two schemes: the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS), and ACMA’s labelling requirements. The rules for using the mark are in the Australian Standards AS/NZS 4417.1 and AS/NZS 4417.2.

The key rule for a buyer: for electrical safety, in-scope electrical equipment may be sold only if it carries the RCM, applied in line with AS/NZS 4417.1 and 4417.2 and the EESS.

Where the mark sits

A drawn rating label on an appliance, and its plug A generic appliance label with three numbered points: 1, the place beside the model identification where the Regulatory Compliance Mark generally goes; 2, the model identification itself; 3, the plug, whose pins carry insulation at their base. 1 2 3
A drawing, not a real product. The mark itself is not reproduced; the dashed box shows where it generally sits.
  1. The EESS says the RCM generally goes on the outside of the equipment, “as near as possible to the model identification”.
  2. The model identification. Under the EESS, a certificate holder no longer has to mark the unique approval number; the RCM is the symbol that shows the equipment is tied to a responsible supplier.
  3. The plug. Energy Safe Victoria says “All appliances must have a regulatory compliance mark (RCM) and the plugs must have insulated pins”, and that “all electrical appliances sold after 2006 must have insulated pins.”

Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office tells buyers to check for the mark “on it or its packaging”, and says: “The RCM means the product has been tested, is compliant and meets Australian Standards.”

The register behind it

The EESS is a framework for regulating household electrical equipment the same way across the country. Local manufacturers and importers register as Responsible Suppliers, and the system sorts household, personal and similar electrical equipment into three risk levels (Level 3, Level 2 and Level 1), each with its own pre-sale requirements.

The three levels, as the EESS describes them
LevelWhat the EESS says
Level 3Must be registered by a Responsible Supplier, hold “a valid and current Certificate of Conformity” from a recognised certifier, and be marked with the RCM.
Level 2Its details, “including the brand and model number”, are on the register, and the supplier “is required to hold a Compliance Folder.”
Level 1May be “voluntarily registered by the Registered Responsible Supplier.”

Checking a product yourself

The EESS database is open to the public, and the scheme says it lets members of the public check whether goods they have bought meet the safety requirements. Energy Safe Victoria’s instruction is to go to the EESS website and “select the option ‘Search Registered Equipment’.” The EESS registration database page explains what it holds.

Where the states differ

The scheme’s own site says that by 2019 Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania had signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) governing the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS). ERAC says South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT “are transitioning” to the EESS, and that “New South Wales (NSW) is not participating”, keeping its existing “Declared / Non-declared” classifications and requirements.

New South Wales

NSW Fair Trading says declared articles “must be certified against Australian Standards and marked accordingly before they can be sold in NSW”, and that buyers should look for the approval number, or approval mark. Items approved by NSW Fair Trading carry a number in the form NSWxxxxx, where the x’s stand for the individual approval number.

The mark “should be permanently on the article itself”; on the box or container alone “is not sufficient”. Its advice if a seller cannot show you the number: “If they can’t show it to you, don’t buy it.” Approvals are kept on the NSW approved electrical articles register.

Western Australia

Building and Energy says the Electricity Act 1945 bars selling a household electrical appliance that an Australian regulatory authority has not ‘approved’, and asks buyers to check for an approval number or the RCM “on all household appliances and their plugs.”

Buying online, and buying second-hand

Queensland warns that “It can be dangerous to buy electrical appliances on the internet from overseas sellers as they might not comply with Australian safety standards”, and that “You may not get a refund or exchange if your product turns out to be non-compliant or faulty.” Energy Safe Victoria singles out small chargers: “All USB chargers, travel adaptors and power supplies must be registered and display the RCM on the product.”

The EESS rules do not apply to second-hand equipment that was sold in Australia before and, when first sold, met the requirements for selling electrical equipment, though individual states may have their own rules. Energy Safe Victoria’s advice on second-hand items is to make sure the appliance “has been approved as safe for use in Australia”, “is not damaged” and has been “tagged and tested” by a qualified repairer or licensed electrician.