WELS Regulator Advice
4 May 2015
The WELS Regulator is concerned about the increased supply of non-compliant showers into the Australian market from manufacturers overseas. The non-compliance relates to:
- Showers not supplied with flow controllers
- Showers not fitted with flow controllers but where flow controllers are supplied separately
- Showers supplied with substituted flow controllers; and
- Taps may also be affected.
These showers use more water than the WELS label indicates and therefore consumers are being provided with incorrect information. Retailers who supply showers in this manner may be contravening provisions of the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005 (Cth) and affected products are not legal for sale in Australia.
At this stage the non-compliances appear only to relate to showers that have been manufactured in China. However, retailers are encouraged to check all shower products to ensure that they are supplied and fitted with flow controllers. Retailers should contact their suppliers if they believe that they have been supplied with non-compliant stock.
The WELS Regulator is happy to assist retailers to rectify the issue with non-compliant stock to ensure that they can supply stock legally. The WELS Regulator requests information about non-compliant stock and uncooperative suppliers from retailers. The information you provide will be treated in confidence and your company details will not be disclosed to third parties.
The WELS Regulator has notified the WaterMark Administrator of this matter.
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WELS Regulator Advice - Multiple instances of showers supplied without flow controllers (PDF 321 KB)
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