The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is responsible for the administration of mandatory product safety and information standards created under the Trade Practices Act 1974. As part of this responsibility, during February 2007 the ACCC has been working to educate the suppliers of caravan jacks about the requirement that goods they supply must comply with the relevant mandatory product safety standard.
The consumer product safety standard for vehicle jacks (the mandatory standard) adopts (with variations) either the 1993 version or the 2003 version of the Australian/New Zealand standard (AS/NZS) 2693, 'Vehicle Jacks'. The mandatory standard specifies design and construction, performance and marking requirements that vehicle jacks must meet to permit them being sold in Australia.
The mandatory standard provides detailed specifications for caravan jacks. For example, clause 4.9 of AS/NZS 2693:2003 defines a caravan jack as:
A jack which is limited in its application to caravans and trailers fitted with its specific engagement fitting and is not intended to be used to lift a caravan or trailer at other than the specific engagement points.
Because weight is distributed differently in each make of caravan, caravan jacks are required to have an engagement fitting specific to a particular make of caravan. This is designed to reduce the likelihood of accident and injury by providing users with a precise location to position their jack for the safe lifting of their caravan.
Vehicle jacks have often been associated with serious injuries. The task of raising and supporting a vehicle to allow work to be carried out on the underneath of a vehicle is inherently hazardous due to the weight of the vehicle and its lack of stability when raised. This situation has resulted in serious crush injuries and deaths when vehicles have fallen onto individuals working underneath. Some injuries have been attributed to poor quality jacks and some were attributed to unsafe work practices.
The ACCC remains committed to consumer protection and will continue to actively enforce mandatory product safety and information standards to prevent the supply of non-compliant and unsafe goods.
Publication
The Oilcode Compliance Manual
A new ACCC publication will assist participants in the downstream retail petroleum industry understand their rights and obligations under the Oilcode.
The Oilcode, which will regulate the conduct of participants in the downstream retail petroleum industry, comes into effect as a prescribed mandatory code of conduct under the Trade Practices Act from 1 March 2007.
The ACCC has developed a number of compliance tools to educate industry participants about the Oilcode. These include:
Additionally, the ACCC has also met with a number of the stakeholders in the downstream petroleum retail industry to inform them about the Oilcode and the ACCC’s role. The ACCC has also conducted a number of industry presentations to educate industry participants about their rights and obligations under the new code.
These publications can all be accessed on the ACCC industry codes website. The ACCC also has a free information service—the Oilcode Information Network—which provides subscribers with free updates on Oilcode developments.
For more information, please visit the ACCC website or contact the ACCC Infocentre on 1300 302 502.
