Australian RCM registration

The latest certification requirements for Australian RCM certification

1.       The new law will be officially implemented on March 1, 2013.

2.       SAA certification and C-Tick certification will be gradually canceled and replaced by RCM certification , this certification covers safety and EMC (C-TIck may still apply to some low-power wireless products).

3.       All electronic products will be divided into three categories: High, medium, low Risk . We do not have detailed information on the classification range. Generally speaking, battery-driven products and products with a voltage below 12V are low-risk, 240V standard voltage products are medium-risk, and high-voltage products are high-risk. The buffer period for low-risk products is 6 months, and the buffer period for medium- and high-risk products is 3 years (this period is recommended by the relevant Australian associations, but the government has not yet finalized the specific decree).

4.       4.RCM certification can only be applied for by local Australian companies, which must The Australian Government applies for an RCM number. Chinese manufacturers and exporters can apply for IEC or AS/NZS reports in their own names, but the reports must be submitted to Australian importers to apply for RCM. The registration fee is 75 Australian dollars per product and trademark per year (for example, an Australian company owns two trademarks: A and B. It imported exactly the same batch of products from China, half of which were marked with A's trademark, and one with A's trademark. B's trademark, that means you must pay an annual registration fee of 150 Australian dollars).

5.       According to the opinion of the expert, the importer will be responsible for the failure of product quality Risk (responsible party), and non-Australian companies cannot directly apply for RCM certification. It is estimated that more and more sizable Australian companies will change the practice of having Chinese manufacturers bear the cost of producing reports and applying for SAA in order to reduce costs. They will tend to designate laboratories with certain capabilities and reputation, provide insurance reports and test data, and then let them apply for Australian RCM certification.

6.       Theoretically, Australian laboratories can also serve as applicants to help a company obtain RCM certification. However, according to the expert's opinion, due to the greater legal liability, it is estimated that most Australian laboratories will not take the initiative to take this risk. Even if they do, the related costs may be relatively high.

7.       Australia and New Zealand are introducing the RCM mark to achieve unified identification of electrical products. This mark is a trademark owned by regulatory agencies in Australia and New Zealand, indicating that the product meets both safety and EMC requirements and is non-mandatory.

RCM logo

RCM= Safety + EMC + Importer Declaration

1. Safety (product safety certification):

Product safety certification includes two parts: electrical products are divided into regulated electrical products (Prescribed Product) and non-prescribed products (Non-prescribed product).

Regulated electrical products are classified according to AS/NZS4417.2, including electric heating equipment, refrigeration equipment, power tools, parts, etc. Three of the issuing entities, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, are the most active in the certification process. Regulated electrical appliances must obtain a Certificate of Approval issued by the monitoring department, and must have a specified mark (certificate number must be stamped) . The first letter of the certificate number shows which state or territory the certificate was issued by. Such as:

a)         Q04051 (Queensland Queensland) --- Q Number

b)        W2015 (Western Australia Western Australia) --- W Number

c)         V03101 (Victoria Victoria) --- ESV Certificate V Number

d)        NSW18099 (New South Wales New South Wales) --- DOFT Certificate NSW Number

Non-regulated electrical appliances can be sold directly without certification, but the manufacturer must ensure that the electrical safety of the product complies with the Australian standard AS/NZS3820:1998 (Essential Safety Requirements for Low Voltage Electrical Equipment); the monitoring department will issue a Certificate of Suitability to products that meet the standard requirements. Electrical products that have obtained a certificate of compliance can be marked with a certificate number. The last letter of the certificate shows which state or region the certificate was issued by. , such as:

a)         CS/431/Q (Queensland)

b)        CS/108/NSW (New South Wales)

2.EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility)

Australia’s electromagnetic compatibility compliance plan is formulated based on the Radio Communications Act 1992  and covers a wide range of products. Including motor-driven and heating electrical products, power tools and similar products, electric lamps and similar equipment, television receivers and audio equipment, information technology products, industrial scientific and medical instruments and equipment, ignition engines and arc welding equipment, etc. The plan divides products into three categories based on the risk of electromagnetic interference produced by the products. Products in the second and third categories must be marked with a C-Tick. However, no matter which category the product belongs to, it must comply with relevant EMC standards.

Category 1 products: products that have only a slight impact on devices using wireless spectrum, such as manual switches, simple relays, brushless squirrel cage induction motors, AC power/power transformers, resistors, etc. Such products can voluntarily apply to use the C-Tick mark when producing and selling them.

Class II products: products that have a greater impact on devices that use wireless spectrum, such as microprocessors or digital devices connected to clocks, rectifiers or slip rings Telecommunications terminal equipment in the categories of electric motors, arc welding equipment, switching power supplies, photometric regulators and motor speed controllers, and information technology (CISPR 22) (changed from Category III to Category III with effect from November 7, 2003 Category II).

Category III products: Products that have a serious impact on devices using wireless spectrum, such as Industrial, Scientific and Medical Instruments and Equipment Group 2 (CISPR11).

RCM related application matters

(1) If the product has CB and country differences, you can directly transfer the Safety Certificate. Coupled with the EMC part, agents can help make announcements. The product can be sold to Australia and marked with RCM Mark.

(2) Safety Certificate: When applying for the safety part, if the product is a direct plug in, you need to do an AU Plug Test for the product ( Test Standard: AS/NZS 3112: 2004), if the product is Desktop, this test is not required.

(3) EMC Report --- That is, it can be C-Tick Report (Test Standard: AS/NZS CISPR 22: 2002), It can also be CE EMC Report.

What countries does RCM certification apply to?

Nauru, Australia Fiji Solomon Islands Kiribati

Federated States of Micronesia Tuvalu New Zealand Tonga Marshall Islands Vanu Papua New Guinea  Samoa

What is the application process for RCM certification?

1.ALPHA laboratory evaluates products and determines the testing standards to be implemented;

2. If there are non-conformities in the test, the manufacturer will rectify the product to comply with and meet the requirements of Australian standards;

3. If the test is passed, a test report will be issued;

4. Submit the test report to the Australian certification agency for document review;

5. Australia passed the review and issued the RCM certificate;

6. Customers can complete the Australian website registration by themselves or by ALPHA;

What are the precautions for RCM?

1. The RCM logo needs to be added to the product when it is launched. Note that this requirement was announced by Australia on April 19, 2013

2. When the plug-in adapter undergoes RCM safety certification, random plug testing is required

3. Lamp tube products: such as T8 LED tubes, fluorescent tubes can be directly replaced by users, which poses a greater safety risk and samples need to be sent to Australia. Assessment

4. The time of different issuing agencies will be different