Building and Energy raises concerns over availability of unsafe electrical appliances

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WA’S electricity safety watchdog is becoming increasingly concerned about the availability of poorly made and unsafe electrical appliances via online sellers such as eBay and Amazon.

Building and Energy, formerly known as EnergySafety, is understood to have raised concerns with Federal authorities about the inability of regulators to screen electrical products being sold through digital platforms.

Online providers, led by giant companies such as eBay and Amazon, are growing their market share in the electrical goods market.

But unlike with bricks-and-mortar retailers, it is believed Building and Energy has neither the scope to vet a defective product before it is made available online nor to directly step in to prevent its sale once it has been marketed.

The situation has prompted regulators to push for change to ensure they have more control over the safety and quality of the products being sold locally.

Building and Energy executive director Ken Bowron said the regulator did “regular and ongoing audits and inspections” of physical retailers and markets.

Mr Bowron said it could also police Australian-based internet sites such as Gumtree to ensure they were complying with local standards.

Those found to be in breach of the rules could be asked to remove defective products from sale or face fines of up to $5000.

However, Mr Bowron said it was much harder for Building and Energy to stop the sale of dodgy appliances via international websites and it invariably had to go through bodies such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to intervene.

Mr Bowron urged consumers to seek out products with a Regulatory Compliance Mark showing they met Australian standards, while noting State and Federal regulators were working on a national scheme requiring all suppliers of electrical goods to be registered on a central database.

“There are risks when purchasing any goods online,” he said.

“The issue of unsafe products being sold on the internet is a national issue. We recommend consumers buy their electrical products from a reputable source.”