InkWELS - May 2009
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Product registration database
Help pages
Online help is available at each stage of making an application to register a product. A ‘Help’ option is located on each web page and is located near the top of the screen next to ‘Print’.
“What does that mean?”
We receive a large number of enquiries about the ‘status’ of an application. The ‘status’ of each of your applications is listed on your home page.
Applications are displayed as either ‘Active applications’ or ‘Inactive applications’. Applications are ‘Active’ until the product (or products) has been registered by a notice in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Once registered (or the registration is cancelled or suspended) your application becomes ‘Inactive’.
The list below explains the different application statuses.
- Draft
- The application has been created but not yet submitted.
- Submitted
- The application has been received but has not yet been attended to.
- Checked
- A check of the application is being undertaken, including seeking fee payment.
- Returned
- The application has been submitted but returned with a request for correction or further information.
- Assessing
- The application is being assessed.
- Pending
- The application has been assessed and the products are about to be registered through a notice published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.
- Registered
- The products have been registered through a notice published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette.
- Expiring
- The product's registration is within six months of its expiry date – if the product is still in the supply chain, you should apply for it to be re-registered before the expiry date.
- Expired
- The product’s registration has expired – it may not be supplied until it is re‑registered.
- Cancelled
- The product’s registration has been cancelled – it may not be supplied until it is re-registered.
- Suspended
- The product’s registration has been suspended – it may not be supplied until the suspension is lifted.
Expiring registrations
Products that were registered during 2005 are due to expire in 2010. We are considering options to best manage these expiring registrations, including any necessary changes to the registration database.
Compliance
New compliance email
In addition to our existing email of wels@environment.gov.au we now have a compliance email:
Any issues relating to compliance under the WELS scheme should be sent using welscompliance@environment.gov.au – but any sent to wels@environment.gov.au will still receive appropriate attention.
Complying with the WELS Standard
Since January 2009, WELS inspectors have been visiting retailer outlets in southern Australia. Products were checked for compliant WELS labels and whether or not they were registered. The inspectors also met with store managers to discuss compliance issues for their stores.
A number of labelling mistakes were noted and advice is being formally provided to affected retail outlets and companies. Below is a 'how to label' reminder.
Retailers should only be selling registered WELS products and should ensure that these products are appropriately labelled. WELS products that are registered can be searched for on the WELS registration and product search database.
Retailers should try to ensure that they are being supplied WELS registered and labelled products and that suppliers are providing additional WELS labels/swing tags for use on display products when taken out of their packaging.
A product supplied to the consumer in packaging must also be appropriately WELS labelled, either with the WELS label or with a text description.
WELS labels should be large enough to be easily read, or a text description of the product's water efficiency star rating and flow rate i.e. "WELS 3 star 9 L/min" can be used.
WELS Standard changes
Proposed amendments (Amendment 4) to the WELS Standard, AS/NZS 6400 Water efficient products—Rating and labelling, are open for public comment. This round of amendments will include:
- allowing for the testing and labelling of cold water only clothes washing machines;
- introducing shower and tap testing at low pressure (ie at 35 kPa), including a new label for when tested at low pressure; and
- changing the wording of the zero star rated label from "Does not comply with AS/NZS6400" to "Not water efficient when tested to AS/NZS 6400".
The public comment period closes 4 June 2009. Amendment 4 (DR 09031 CP) can be accessed and comments made on the SAI Global website.
