Use our online product registration database to register your products under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme.
All products we regulate must be registered before you can offer them for supply in Australia.
To register a product, you must have:
- current WaterMark certification (for showers, toilets, taps, urinals and flow controllers)
- test report/s to show that you have met product testing requirements for WaterMark (if applicable) and WELS
- photo of the product/s to upload with your application
- written permission to register the product/s from the manufacturer, if you are not the manufacturer of the product.
Registration fees must be paid before your registration can be finalised.
Follow our advice, and the step-by-step instructions in our database user manual, to help you register your products.
Access our product database
New users will have to sign up to our product registration database before you can register products.
You will be asked to provide information about your organisation and a primary contact person. Once completed, you will receive an email advising that your application has been submitted for approval. It may take approximately 5 business days for your request to be processed. If your request is not approved you will be notified by email of the reason.
Existing users should make sure all your account details are up-to-date before you renew, or apply for new, registrations.
Download the database user instruction manual to help you log in and navigate the database.
Prepare supporting information
Before you start your application, you will need to check the brand you want to register is listed in the My Brands section of our product registration database, or add a new brand.
Upload supporting documentation for your application to the My Documents section of the product registration database.
Documents you will need to provide include:
- a photo of the product/s
- test reports
- WaterMark certification (for plumbing products).
Complete the application form
Create a new application for each model where one or more of these features is different:
- product type (e.g. tap equipment, shower)
- subtype (as described in Australian Standard 6400:2016)
- brand
- water consumption
- star rating
- critical specifications and components (as described in Australian Standard 6400:2016)
- other design elements or components that affect water consumption.
You can include up to 15 models on the same application, as long as these features are the same and they all have test report results and WaterMark certification.
Refer to Australian Standard 6400:2016 for more information.
Each type of regulated product has different subtype options, as detailed in the relevant sections of Australian Standard 6400:2016.
When you apply for a new registration or renew your current registrations, you will need to answer a series of questions to determine your product subtype.
Depending on the product type you are registering, you will have different subtype options available to select in the product registration database. The product you are selling, supplying or offering for supply must match the product subtype it is registered under.
Example — shower subtype
If a product is being sold as a combination shower and the registration for the product subtype is only the hand shower component, then the product must be registered as a combination shower subtype.
If the components of the combination shower are available to be supplied separately then all components of the shower must be registered, hand shower, overhead shower and combination.
For every product you register, you will be asked to supply the model name and the model code.
Model name is the name on the box or in advertising that the consumer will use to identify the model (e.g. Wombat 300 mm basin tap).
Model code is the unique identifier that you use for your product — it could be the same as the model name or it could be different (e.g. a stock control code).
When products are displayed or sold in store, online or in a new property offered for sale, the model name must match the registered model name or model code. Make sure the model name you register is the same as the name you intend to use when it is sold, to avoid penalties under the WELS Act.
The WELS Regulator will permit some minor changes to the model name for variants.
Two or more models that are the same may be registered as variants of an existing registered model at no additional cost. Variants are not counted as models when calculating your tiered fee. They are listed separately in the database and are findable in our online product search.
To register a model as a variant, it must be:
- added to a model that is registered — it cannot be added to expiring, expired, cancelled or suspended models
- sold under the same model name as the parent product
- the same critical specifications and components as the parent product
- traceable in our online product search, including models with different colours or finishes.
Where model names are different, each model must be registered separately (e.g. a tap sold as a Wombat tap, a Swan tap and a Kangaroo tap will need to be registered three times).
When a model expires, is cancelled or suspended, all registered variants of that model will also expire, be cancelled or suspended.
These requirements are detailed in Australian Standard 6400:2016.
Pay registration fees
After you submit your application, you will be issued with an invoice for registration fees.
Registrations are not processed until all fees are paid. Find your invoices and manage your payments through the My Payments section of our product registration database.
Find out more about fees for registering products.
What happens next:
Once the payment is uploaded into the system, you will receive an email notification advising that a receipt is in the My Payments section of our product registration database.
Your registration will then be ready for approval by the delegate. Once approved you will receive a notification to say the product is registered.
Maintain registration details
You are responsible for ensuring products are registered correctly, maintaining your own records of product registrations and keeping product details up-to-date in our product registration database.
Cancellation or suspension of registrations
Registration of your products may be cancelled or suspended under Section 15 of the WELS Determination if you do not:
- retain copies of all documents included in the application for registration for 2 years after the registration has ended, and make the documents available on the Regulator’s request
- notify the Regulator that the product has been altered in a way that affects the performance of the product, including water consumption and or compliance with the Australian Standard 6400:2016.
Registration of your products may also be cancelled or suspended under Section 15 of the WELS Determination if information provided in an application for registration of a product:
- was not accurate at the time of the application
- is no longer accurate as a result of changes to the product.
A decision to cancel or suspend the registration of a regulated product is a reviewable decision under Sections 69-72 of the WELS Act.