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Australian Agency Service™

The low cost alternative to setting up your own Corporate Presence in Australia !

Download an overview of the AAS™ (Word 7 or Word 6) and the ACA requirements, or link to the GLOBAL (Telecom/Radio) INtelLIGENCE Site

On 1 July 1997 AUSTEL and The Spectrum Management Agency (SMA) merged to form a new entity called The Australian Communications Agency (ACA). At the same time the new Australian Telecommunications Act and amended Radiocommunications Act came into force. The previous Australian approval regime has been replaced by a strictly monitored regime which does not require formal approval.

The ACA compliance system has been divided into three frameworks :-

Telecommunications

Radiocommunications

EMC

Certified Components List

Advice to Industry Notices

Section 361 of the new Telecommunications Act identifies the technical standards which must be complied with, while section 391 specifies labelling/compliance marking requirements.

Under the EMC framework compliance is removed from telecommunications requirements and applied as a separate item. EMC (as of 1 January 1997) has also been extended to cover a greater range of products, many of which are not telecommunications based including information technology equipment, industry scientific and medical equipment and household appliances. Please note that the revised EMC Framework became effective on 1 January 1999.

The Radiocommunications Act, as revised and laid out in The Radiocommunications Framework has set a number of standards for radio equipment, with various categories of compliance required.

Compliance and proof of compliance are now the responsibility of the manufacturer (if located or represented in Australia) or the importer. This applies equally to radiocommunications, consumer goods and telecommunications equipment.

The supplier or importer must apply to the ACA for registration and each registrant will be given a code. All products for which the registrant is responsible must be marked with that number along with any other marks required by ACA regulations.

Registrants will be required to maintain a Compliance Folder, along the lines of those previously required by AUSTEL. ACA will audit these Compliance Folders and companies guilty of non-compliance could face fines of up to AUS$ 50,000 together with the requirement to remove the non-compliant equipment from the market.

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Compliance Folder

The content of a Compliance Folder is closely aligned to that previously required by AUSTEL. This includes (at the very least) the following:

Test reports; Declaration of Conformity; Circuit diagrams; Design master list; Record of software version; Colour brochure or photographs of the product; Installation manuals, handbooks and relevant brochures; Relevant certificates issued by other agencies
An up to date and complete list of documentation requirements is available upon request.

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Services

Technical
Research, Design & Development

Standards Interpretation / Participation

Technical and Legal Translations

Technical / Regulatory Training

Certification
Type Approval / Homologation

Existing AUSTEL permits ?

The ACA should have by now returned all permit documentation to permit holders, as these are no longer valid. For permits issued prior to March 1996, much of this documentation can be used as the basis of a Compliance Folder. For most permits issued after this date (and for all permits issued after September 1996) the permit holder should already be maintaining a suitable Compliance Folder.

Compliance with the new requirements

For permits issued by AUSTEL, the cut-off date for compliance with the new requirements was 1 January 1998. For permits issued by SMA, the cut-off date was 1 January 1999. These dates only apply to unmodified equipment. Any permitted equipment which is modified before these dates must comply with the new requirements from the date of the modification.

Permit holders who are still shipping equipment into Australia which was approved in their name as an overseas manufacturer should not have been doing so after 1 January 1998.

What happens to modified products ?

If a product is modified, the Compliance Folder must be updated to reflect the modification. This includes relevant test reports covering any required retesting of the modified product. A manufacturer or importer must ensure that this is followed, where a competent engineering function is carried out by the Australian legal entity (or Importer).

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Recognised Test Authorities

Dependant upon the compliance level associated with a specific TS , testing may need to be performed by a test house which is NATA (or NATA MRA) [RTAs] listed for the specific Australian standard.

AUSTEL Certified Components List (CCL)

The last CCL list was issued by AUSTEL on 30 June 1997. The CCL scheme has now ceased. All CCL permit files held by AUSTEL will be returned to permit holders who will be responsible for maintaining suitable Compliance Folders.

AUSTEL Advice to Industry notices

Advice to Industry notices will continue to be issued. They will probably be published by the ACA or by the Australian Communications Industry Forum.

Technical Standards

When a product goes into the supply chain, it must comply with the current standards listed in Section 361 of the Telecommunications Act. A manufacturer or importer must ensure that this is followed. There is no 'grandfathering' of equipment, so if a standard is updated or revised, all equipment not yet in the supply chain must comply with the revised requirements. Compliance is demonstrated by a compliant test report and by a Declaration of Conformity which must be filed in the Compliance Folder.

to show the current applicable standards in Australia for communications equipment, these may be ordered on-line from the Standards Australia website. A number of draft standards are issued for public comment from time to time.

For further information about compliance in Australia please contact either Clive Brooks or Edward Fitzgerald (ETSA). The GLOBAL INtelLIGENCE web site also contains useful information.

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