EMC Standards And Legislation In Australia
Are you aware of the EMC standards that apply to your product? Are you aware of the penalties related to non-compliance? All the regions in different parts of the world have their own EMC standards.
It is necessary to adhere to these standards to ensure that all the electronic components/products work as intended.
All electronic products emit or produce electromagnetic interference. It’s basic science. The electromagnetic interference or emissions need to be within a certain limit to ensure that it does not interfere with the functioning of nearby electronic components or devices.
EMC Standards And Legislation In Australia
Every region has an organisation that is responsible for creating, updating and regulating the EMC standards for that region. In Australia, this authority lies with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
They have come up with EMC standards that outline the requirements for a variety of products. These standards are regularly updated. If you plan to supply any kind of electronic product in Australia, you need to ensure that the product meets the appropriate EMC standard.
EMC Compliance
In simple terms, compliance means that the electronic devices or electronic components emit electromagnetic energy within a specific range. Electromagnetic energy has the potential to interfere with the working of all kinds of electronics.
Similarly, radio transmissions can lead to interference with electronic circuits and other critical radio communication. This is why all these products are required to be tested, certified, registered and labelled as per the required standards.
In Australia, the products are categorised into 3 different compliance levels: Level I, Level II and Level III.
For products in compliance level I, a voluntary declaration by the supplier is sufficient. While the voluntary declaration by the supplier is fine when it comes to compliance, it is the responsibility of the supplier to ensure that the product meets the appropriate EMC standard.
For products that need compliance level II and compliance levels III certification, appropriate tests need to be conducted and reported. Also, there are specific compliance record-keeping requirements for all the products.
You should also be aware that there are heavy penalties in case there is any kind of false or misleading information included in the compliance records.
EMC Compliance Testing Process
There are several steps involved in EMC compliance testing.
The very first step is to figure out the applicable EMC standards for your particular product. There are a variety of EMC standards and you need to identify the standards that are applicable to your product.
In case you’re not sure about the standards that apply to your product, you should get in touch with an accredited test lab such as Compliance Engineering to learn more about the EMC standards that apply to your product.
Once the appropriate EMC standards have been identified, the product needs to be tested in an accredited testing lab.
Once the tests have been conducted and a test report has been created, a declaration of conformity needs to be completed to demonstrate that the product meets the applicable EMC standards. It is also necessary to get the product registered on the national database.
For each product, the compliance records are required to be maintained for a period of at least 5 years even after the supplier stops selling these products in Australia.
Summary
EMC compliance standards have been created to ensure that all the electronic components or devices keep operating as intended even when they are in the presence of electromagnetic interference. Also, the electromagnetic energy emissions should be within a particular limit.
EMC compliance involves a lot of tests as per the appropriate standards as defined by ACMA. Since there are a number of standards that apply to various products, it is important to carefully identify the standard that applies to your product. Non-compliance means huge penalties that can go up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Get in touch with Compliance Engineering experts today to learn more about EMC compliance, EMC standards and EMC testing as well as the pre-compliance testing.
Please call us today at Compliance Engineering on + 61 3 9763 3079 or leave an enquiry.