EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Prepared by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment – Safety, Part 1: General Requirements – AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) Amendment 2013 (No. 1)
Telecommunications Act 1997
The Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment – Safety, Part 1: General Requirements – AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) Amendment 2013 (No. 1) (the Amendment Standard) has been made by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) under subsection 376(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) and subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
The Amendment Standard amends the Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment — Safety, Part 1: General Requirements — AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) 2011 (the Principal Standard) which consists of requirements relating to:
- customer equipment that is designed or intended for connection to a telecommunications network; and
- customer equipment that meets specified functional and technical requirements (defined as information technology equipment) and is designed to use AC mains supply as a telecommunications transmission medium
(relevant customer equipment).[1]
The Amendment Standard is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Background
Section 376 of the Act provides that the ACMA may, by written instrument, make a technical standard relating to specified customer equipment or specified customer cabling.
Subsection 376(2) of the Act provides that such standards are to consist only of such requirements as are necessary or convenient for achieving a particular objective specified in that subsection, including:
- protecting the integrity of a telecommunications network or a facility (paragraph (2)(a));
- protecting the health or safety of persons who operate or work on a telecommunications network or a facility, or who use services supplied by means of a telecommunications network or a facility, or who are otherwise reasonably likely to be affected by the operation of a telecommunications network or facility (paragraph (2)(b));
- ensuring that customer equipment can be used to give access to an emergency call service (paragraph (2)(c)); and
- ensuring, for the purpose of the supply of a standard telephone service, the interoperability of customer equipment with a telecommunications network to which the equipment is, or is proposed to be, connected (paragraph (2)(d)).
Section 377 of the Act provides that, in making a technical standard under section 376, the ACMA may apply, adopt or incorporate (with or without modification) any matter contained in a standard proposed or approved by Standards Australia or any other body or association either as in force or existing at a particular time or as in force or existing from time to time.
Before the Amendment Standard was made, the Principal Standard provided that relevant customer equipment had to comply with “the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard: Information technology equipment – Safety, Part 1: General requirements – (AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) [the Australian/New Zealand Standard] as made by Standards Australia Limited in February 2011”.
The Australian/New Zealand Standard was subsequently amended.[2] As the Principal Standard had adopted the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard as in force or existing in February 2011, subsequent changes to those requirements were not adopted by the Principal Standard.
Purpose and operation
The main purpose of the Amendment Standard is to ensure that the mandatory requirements which are applied to relevant customer equipment are those set out in a version of the Australian/New Zealand Standard that is up-to-date at an appropriate time and to specify what that time is (the time specified).
As a general rule, the time specified is the time the equipment is manufactured or imported (as the case may be). That rule does not apply where:
- the equipment is modified in Australia (after its manufacture or importation) by, or on behalf of, the manufacturer or importer of the equipment (modified); or
- the manufacturer or importer of the equipment has previously manufactured or imported other relevant customer equipment on one or more occasions and, on each occasion, the other equipment (as manufactured or, if modified, as modified) is identical to the first-mentioned equipment (identical equipment).
Where relevant customer equipment is modified, the time specified is the time the equipment is so modified (unless the manufacturer or importer of the equipment has previously manufactured or imported identical equipment).
Where the manufacturer or importer of the equipment has previously manufactured or imported identical equipment, the time specified is:
- if the identical equipment is equipment which has not been modified – the first occasion on which the identical equipment was manufactured or imported (as the case may be); or
- if the identical equipment is equipment which has been modified – the first occasion on which the identical equipment was so modified.
Another purpose of the Amendment Standard is to provide a transitional grace period of one year after any amendment to, or replacement of, the Australian/New Zealand Standard, so that manufacturers and importers of relevant customer equipment have sufficient time to comply with any changes to the mandatory requirements.
If the time specified in relation to relevant customer equipment falls within the one-year period, the equipment may comply with:
- the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard as in force immediately before the commencement of the amendment or replacement standard (as the case may be); or
- the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard as amended or the replacement standard (as the case may be).
If the equipment complies with either of those mandatory requirements, it is taken to meet, or meets, the requirements of the Principal Standard.
In accordance with subsection 376(2) of the Act, the Amendment Standard consists only of requirements relating the Australian/New Zealand Standard, which are necessary or convenient to meet the objectives mentioned in paragraphs 376(2)(a) to (d) of the Act, especially paragraph 376(2)(b).[3]
The Amendment Standard further amends the Principal Standard:
- to make it clear that customer equipment to which the Principal Standard applies includes such equipment as modified;
- to insert definitions of “Australian/New Zealand Standard”, “manufactured”, “modified” and “relevant customer equipment” (further details about which are described in Attachment 1); and
- to insert a reference to “import” in Note 1 to section 3 to indicate that this word has the meaning given by section 7 of the Act.
Document Incorporated By Reference
The Amendment Standard incorporates by reference the Australian/New Zealand Standard: Information technology equipment – Safety, Part 1: General requirements – (AS/NZS 60950.1:2011), approved by the Council of Standards Australia on 28 October 2010 and by the Council of Standards New Zealand on 23 December 2010 and published on 8 February 2011.
A copy of the Australian/New Zealand Standard may be purchased from Standards Australia Limited at http://www.standards.org.au/SearchandBuyAStandard.
Regulation Impact
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for the Amendment Standard (ID 2013/15037).
Consultation
Subsections 378(1) and 378(5) of the Act provide that before the ACMA makes a technical standard under section 376 the ACMA must, so far as is practicable, try to ensure that interested parties have had an adequate opportunity to comment on the proposed standard, for a period of at least 60 days, and that due consideration has been given to any comments made.
On 24 May 2013, the ACMA issued a public consultation paper about the proposal to make the Amendment Standard, which invited submissions by 26 July 2013. There was a period of 64 days during which submissions could be made. One submission was received from Communications Alliance which generally supported the proposal and was considered by the ACMA before making the Amendment Standard.
Notes on Sections
The provisions of the Amendment Standard are described in Attachment 1.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
A statement of compatibility with human rights for the purposes of Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is set out in Attachment 2.
Attachment 1
Notes on Sections
Section 1 – Name of Technical Standard
Section 1 provides for the citation of the Amendment Standard as the Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment – Safety, Part 1: General Requirements – AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) Amendment 2013 (No. 1).
Section 2 – Commencement
Section 2 provides that the Amendment Standard commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Section 3 – Amendment of the Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment — Safety, Part 1: General Requirements — AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) 2011
Section 3 provides that the Principal Standard is amended in accordance with Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 – Amendment
Item [1] – Section 3
Item [1] inserts a new definition of Australian/New Zealand Standard into section 3 of the Principal Standard. The definition provides that Australian/New Zealand Standard means the Australian/New Zealand Standard: Information technology equipment – Safety, Part 1: General requirements – (AS/NZS 60950.1:2011), approved by the Council of Standards Australia on 28 October 2010 and by the Council of Standards New Zealand on 23 December 2010 and published on 8 February 2011.
As the Australian New Zealand Standard is a document incorporated by reference, the definition is followed by a note indicating where a copy of the Australian/New Zealand Standard may be purchased.
Item [2] – Section 3
Item [2] inserts a new definition of manufactured into section 3 of the Principal Standard. The definition provides that manufactured, in relation to relevant customer equipment, means manufactured in Australia.
Item [3] – Section 3
Item [3] inserts a new definition of modified into section 3 of the Principal Standard. The definition provides that modified, in relation to relevant customer equipment, means modified in Australia (after its manufacture or importation) by, or on behalf of, the manufacturer or importer of the relevant customer equipment.
Item [4] – Section 3
Item [4] inserts a new definition of relevant customer equipment into section 3 of the Principal Standard. The definition provides that relevant customer equipment means customer equipment to which the Principal Standard applies.
Item [5] – Section 3, Note 1, after the first bullet point
Item [5] amends Note 1 to section 3 of the Principal Standard to indicate that “import” has the meaning given by section 7 of the Act.
Item [6] – Section 5
Item [6] replaces section 5 to make it clear that customer equipment to which the Principal Standard applies includes such equipment as modified.
Item [7] – Section 6
Item [7] replaces section 6 with new subsections 6(1) and 6(2).
Subsection 6(1) provides that relevant customer equipment must comply with the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard, as in force or existing at the time specified in new subsection (2).
Subsection 6(2) specifies the time for the purposes of subsection 6(1).
Item [8] – After section 6
Item [8] inserts new section 7 into the Principal Standard to provide a transitional grace period of one year after any amendment to, or replacement of, the Australian/New Zealand Standard.
If the time specified in relation to relevant customer equipment falls within the one-year period, the equipment may comply with:
- the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard as in force immediately before the commencement of the amendment or replacement standard (as the case may be); or
- the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard as amended or the replacement standard (as the case may be).
If the equipment complies with either of those mandatory requirements, it is taken to meet, or meets, the requirements of the Principal Standard.
Attachment 2
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment – Safety, Part 1: General Requirements – AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) Amendment 2013 (No. 1)
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
This Legislative Instrument amends the Telecommunications Technical Standard (Information Technology Equipment — Safety, Part 1: General Requirements — AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) 2011 (the Principal Standard) which consists of requirements relating to certain customer equipment (relevant customer equipment).
Before the Legislative Instrument was made, the Principal Standard provided that relevant customer equipment had to comply with “the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard: Information technology equipment – Safety, Part 1: General requirements – (AS/NZS 60950.1:2011) [the Australian/New Zealand Standard] as made by Standards Australia Limited in February 2011”.
The Australian/New Zealand Standard was subsequently amended. As the Principal Standard had adopted the mandatory requirements set out in the Australian/New Zealand Standard as in force or existing in February 2011, subsequent changes to those requirements were not adopted by the Principal Standard.
The main purpose of the Legislative Instrument is to ensure that the mandatory requirements which are applied to relevant customer equipment are those set out in a version of the Australian/New Zealand Standard that is up-to-date at an appropriate time and to specify what that time is.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Australian Communications and Media Authority
[1] The ACMA, by the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Notice 2001, requires a manufacturer or importer of specified customer equipment or specified cabling to apply to the equipment or cabling a label that indicates whether the equipment or cabling meets the requirements of specified standards made under section 376 of the Act, including the Principal Standard. It is an offence, under section 411 of the Act, to connect such equipment or cabling to a telecommunications network or to a facility, or to maintain such a connection, if the manufacturer or importer of the equipment or cabling did not apply such a label or has applied such a label where the equipment or cabling does not meet those requirements.
[2] That amendment, described as “Amendment No. 1”, was published on 9 November 2012 and resulted in the Australian/New Zealand Standard adopting technical changes made to the International Standard known as IEC 60950-1, Ed.2.0 (2005).
[3] The preface of the Australian/New Zealand Standard states:
The objective of this Standard is to establish minimum safety requirements for the design, construction and operation of mains-powered or battery-powered information technology equipment. It sets out requirements intended to ensure the safety of the operator and other people who may come into contact with the equipment and, where specifically stated, for service personnel and which may be used as the basis for approval for Australia and New Zealand.