A Supplier Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) is required for declared medium risk articles to be sold in New Zealand. These contain a description of the article and a statement that it complies with the required standard or other safety assurance.

The requirement for a Declared Medium Risk Article is found under Regulation 83 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010(external link) where a product shall not be sold or offered for sale unless the supplier (being the New Zealand manufacturer or importer) has made a Supplier Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) in respect of the article.

The SDoC has been aligned with the international format in ISO/IEC 17050.

SDoC forms must be accompanied by a test report (or certificate of conformity) showing how the fitting or appliance complies with AS/NZS 3820 or the applicable Standard(s) listed in Schedule 4(external link) of the Regulations.

Schedule 4 also introduces a list of recognised Standards including any alternatives.  Many of these Standards are IEC Standards with variations to reflect any specific New Zealand requirements such as language, voltage, and plug etc.  This provides for a wider range of recognised and accredited testing facilities.

Most medium risk products are also (high risk) “declared articles” in Australia.  The Australian certification is recognised under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 to accompany the SDoC.

Under the transitional arrangements of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, any SDoC that were compliant with the Electricity Regulations 1997 remain valid until expiry and do not require an accompanying test report.

The requirements for Declared Medium Risk Articles are as follows:

SDOC

• A copy of a valid SDoC and supporting test report(s) must be produced within 10 days after being asked to do so by Energy Safety
• The SDoC must also be available to a consumer or purchaser.

Test report

• The test reports are not required to be from an accredited test laboratory.  However, a fully accredited test report remains as the recognised means of demonstrating compliance as per Regulation 81(external link). There is some flexibility for the actual Standards used.

Where a product cannot comply with a clause or clauses of a specific safety standard listed in Schedule 4 associated with the product for whatever reason, evidence on how the product fully complies with AS/NZS 3820 is required instead and the SDoC must cite full compliance with AS/NZS 3820, rather than partial compliance with specific Schedule 4 standard.

A valid Australian regulator’s certificate of approval may be considered satisfactory evidence of compliance with AS/NZS 3820 for the purpose of an SDoC. 

Example of a SDoC form required by Regulation 83