Before you sell or offer to supply products regulated under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme, you must register those products with us.
Products that must be registered include certain types of:
- showers
- tap equipment
- flow controllers
- lavatory equipment (toilets)
- urinal equipment
- dishwashers
- clothes washing machines
- dryer function of combination washer-dryers, where they use water to dry a load.
The WELS scheme excludes second-hand or used products and products imported into Australia for personal use.
Know your responsibilities
Everyone involved in the supply chain is responsible for making sure products are registered before they are supplied. This includes manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers or building developers.
Meet this requirement by:
- checking the registration status of products you supply
- registering products yourself.
Anyone can register a product. If you are not the manufacturer, you will need to provide a letter of permission from the manufacturer with your registration application.
You are also responsible for displaying correct water efficiency information with all registered products.
Test and certify your products
Before you register your products, they must be tested for performance and water efficiency in an accredited laboratory.
Check all testing requirements for WELS scheme product registrations.
WaterMark
Plumbing products also need to be WaterMark certified before you can register them under the WELS scheme.
Generally, if you have your product tested for WaterMark, the test report you receive can be used for your application for WELS registration. You will be provided with test reports for each product. Submit these with your registration application.
WaterMark certification is provided by independent certifying authorities. It confirms that the product:
- complies with the Plumbing Code of Australia
- is fit for purpose
- meets relevant Australian Standards relating to product quality, including health and safety.
State and territory plumbing regulations state that plumbing products cannot legally be installed without WaterMark certification.
Products that require WaterMark certification are listed in the Plumbing Code of Australia and Australian Standard 3500.
Register and renew products online
Use our product registration database to register a product, renew existing registrations, and manage fee payments.
Find out how to register products online.
Dates
Product registrations must be renewed each year or the registrations will expire. Product renewals can only be made from 15 September to 5 December each year.
On 15 September each year all product registrations with a status of ‘registered’ change to ‘expiring’. From this date until 5 December the registrant can apply to renew registrations.
On 5 December the registrant can no longer apply to renew product registrations.
The status of renewed product registrations changes to ‘registered’ once a renewal application has been approved by the delegate and payment has been received in full by the department.
Full payment must be received by the department before 22 January.
On 22 January registrations that were not renewed and renewal applications that were not approved by the delegate and paid for in full will change from ‘expiring’ status to ‘ceasing’.
On 22 July product registrations with a status of ‘ceasing’ change to ‘expired’ and can no longer be offered for sale in Australia until they are registered again.
New registrations can be made at any time throughout the year. Your registration may be for more or less than a year, depending on the date you apply.
Fees
Registration fees are due 30 days after you are invoiced, or by 22 January each year for renewals.
Manage your registration fees and payments through the My payments section of our product registration database.
Avoid penalties
Supplying products that are not registered with us or are not labelled correctly can lead to penalties under the WELS Act, such as infringements and court action.
Our approach to compliance focuses on educating suppliers, to help you understand your responsibilities.
Avoid penalties by following the guidance available on this website and the advice provided to you during our inspections.