The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) has joined a range of leading building and construction industry peak bodies to call for more government funding and enforcement in relation to non-compliant building products.

“This is a major issue for our sector as well as the broader building industry. What’s unbelievable about this issue is that there seems to be a misguided view that consumers will somehow save a few dollars by purchasing a non-conforming building product. Unfortunately, this view is far from the truth and has the ability to infest the entire supply chain as well as act as a time bomb for years to come,” said CEO of NECA Mr Manickam.

“From the industry’s perspective, the issues include, risk of electrical fire and shocks, property damage, legal liability, serious injury and/or death, industry reputation and consumer confidence.”

It is difficult to place a dollar figure on the damage being done to the industry and the consumer. Suffice to say, the damage is real and in the millions.

NECA has provided a comprehensive submission and is calling on government for the following:

1. That there be greater clarity as to which level of government and/or department is responsible for the oversight and monitoring of imported electrical products.
2. That there be greater clarity as to which level of government and/or department is responsible for the sale of imported electrical products.
3. That the resources of federal and state regulatory agencies are significantly boosted in order to be more pro-active in relation to product enforcement activities.
4. That any product that requires a licensed electrician for installation only be sold through a trade’s desk.
5. That the federal government broaden and boost Customs powers to enable random compliance audits of imported electrical products and the ability to detain non-compliant electrical products.
6. Given the intergovernmental failure with respect to the progression and adoption of the EESS, NECA seeks Commonwealth support for the management and administration of the EESS database.
7. That the EESS database is enhanced to provide stronger verification of test certificate legitimacy, linked to a list of accredited test labs that are subject to an audit regime based upon track record and the level of risk.
8. That a wider discussion in relation to product recall insurance occurs.
9. That the Federal Government increase its commitment and resources to ensure a larger number of product random batch tests are carried out.

“It’s encouraging to see Parliament discussing this very serious issue. We have seen far too many tragic events occur as a result of non-conforming building products. We’re calling on the government to adopt our recommendations in order to stem this scourge,” concluded Mr Manickam.