What is an electrical SDoC?
There is a requirement for medium and high-risk electrical fittings and appliances to have been tested before being available for sale in New Zealand. WorkSafe NZ approval is required where high-risk declared articles, including electrical, are imported intending to be sold or used in New Zealand. An approved application is called a Supplier Declaration of Conformity or 'SDoC'. It is the responsibility of the importer or supplier to provide a copy of the SDoC when requested.
Electrical regulatory compliance information is contained in The Electricity (Safety) Regulations 84, 85 and 86.
Following is an article from EWRB and contains useful information regarding imported electrical equipment:
Electrical equipment consists of both fittings and appliances. Similar to the way Prescribed Elecetrical Work (PEW) is divided into three risk categories, fittings and appliances are also divided into three categories.
All electrical equipment that is gazetted as medium or high risk means the New Zealand supplier (generally the seller who you bought the equipment from) is required to provide an SDoC on request. Although an SDoC is required to be supplied by a wholesaler or retailer, the SDoC will generally be issued by the New Zealand importer or New Zealand manufacturer.
An SDoC is a document that contains a description of the article and a test report confirming how it complies with the required standard or AS/NZS 3820.
If an electrical worker (EW) supplies declared high or medium risk electrical equipment, then the EW is the supplier and they must ensure that they can supply a valid SDoC. For example, an EW may have purchased extractor fans from an overseas online seller then supplied and installed the fans into clients’ installations. In this case the EW is deemed to be the New Zealand importer and they must issue an SDoC for the extractor fan before the fan was supplied and installed.
For more information see refer to the EWRB's website
What information should be included in a SDoC?
If an EW has received an SDoC for particular electrical equipment, they should always ensure the product name, type, rating, brand and model for that electrical equipment are all provided in the SDoC. This information must exactly match the markings on that electrical equipment the EW received.
If any of the information contained in the SDoC is different from the markings on the electrical equipment, e.g. the brand or the model, it means that the SDoC they received is not for the electrical equipment they have and therefore should not be relied on or referenced on the EW's CoC.
In addition the SDoC must also contain the full legal name and contact details of the New Zealand supplier.
Detailed information is available from WorkSafe website high and medium risk products.