Product listing and compliance
Product listing
Each regulated product will need to be listed on a database, which will be made publicly available via the www.waterefficiency.govt.nz website. The importer or manufacturer of a product, or their agent, will be responsible for listing it. Details of the database and website have not yet been finalised, but the structure and the data requirements will be similar to the Australian WELS product search database.
There will be no fee for listing a product on the database or for modifying information. To enable products to be listed and managed a login account approach is likely.
The generic information required to make a product listing will include, for all product types:
- Product Class
- Brand Name
- Model
- Sub Model
- Country of Manufacture
- Star Rating
- Water Consumption Figure
- Laboratory used for testing
Some additional items (such as capacity in kg for a washing machine) will be needed. Once all the information has been provided, a product will be listed and go ‘live’ on the database.
It will be the responsibility of the importer or manufacturer, who has listed the product, to ensure that the detail for that product is correct.
There will be no need for retesting if a product is changed or renamed without affecting its efficiency. It will however be required to be listed as a new product again. The same test data can be re-used.
Print media advertising
The WELS regulations will require the water consumption and star rating to be provided on printed product specifications, brochures, advertising material, magazines, or catalogues where the product is promoted. We propose that this will only be required where the product’s price is specified in New Zealand dollars, to avoid any need to modify or discard imported advertising material.
The information can be provided using:
- The full-size WELS label for the product;
- Text advice including the water efficiency star rating and associated consumption figure for the product; or
- A simplified, small scale version of the label.
Internet sales and advertising
The regulations will require the water consumption and star rating to be provided where regulated products are profiled, whether they are available for sale or not. In a similar way as for print advertising, there will be options to use the full size label, text advice, or small scale labels.
Phase-in of regulations
The following transition periods are proposed:
- Products imported into, or manufactured in, New Zealand after the date the regulations come into force will all have to be listed and labelled by one year after that date; and
- Products already in stock on the date the regulations come into force will all have to be listed and labelled three years after the regulations come into force.
Documentation may be required during the phase-in periods to show when a product was imported or purchased. The purpose of these phase-in arrangements is to give importers, manufacturers and retailers enough time to test and label products.
The one-year phase-in period will also help ensure that the label information is available before labelling in advertising and internet sales is required.
Compliance and enforcement
Manufacturers, importers and retailers of WELS products in New Zealand will have responsibilities under the WELS regulations. The regulations will say that a person must not supply, offer to supply or advertise to supply the regulated products unless they comply.
The Commerce Commission is responsible for enforcement of Consumer Information Standard (CIS) regulations, including WELS. Enforcement of CIS regulations typically begins with education. The Commission will issue material that details people’s responsibilities. Warnings and ultimately court action may follow if there are significant breaches. Consumers and competitors will have some involvement in monitoring and reporting on compliance.
Offences under the Fair Trading Act may include:
- For manufacturers and importers – failure to list a regulated product, or providing deliberately false or misleading information on listing.
- For retailers - not displaying labels on regulated products, displaying non-conforming labels, or displaying the incorrect label for the product.
Products that are for export and will not be sold in New Zealand will not be covered.
Last updated: 13 July 2009
