Company or individual details
- Masport Ltd
Undertaking
Masport Limited has provided court-enforceable Undertakings to the ACCC after representing that particular woodheaters met with the prescribed standard Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4013, when testing revealed that they did not. The Standard is used to regulate the maximum particle emission rates in most states and territories within Australia, and also stipulates that models tested must comply with design drawings submitted by the manufacturer as well as specified labelling requirements.
In late 2003 the Department of The Environment and Heritage published a National Woodheater Audit Program Final Report.
The report details testing that was undertaken by the Australian Home Heating Association Testing Laboratory of the 12 most popular nationally available woodheater models, which were tested for emissions and design specifications, with a further 35 models tested for design specifications alone.
Results published in the report showed that the extent of non-compliance was significant.
The ACCC considers that as a result, Masport Limited was likely to have breached sections 52, 53(a) and 53(c) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA) by misrepresenting that its woodheater(s) comply with the Standard as labelled, when, in fact, upon testing it has been discovered that they do not.
Masport Limited has given court-enforceable undertakings that it:
- will for a period of three years, will ensure that all woodheaters supplied by it will comply with the Standard; and
- will implement and maintain a trade practices compliance program.
Notably, Masport Limited volunteered to participate in the DEH study, and products from other all other woodheater companies have not been tested.