Our approach to compliance

Manufacturers, importers and retailers have a duty to comply with product Regulations in New Zealand. EECA’s approach to ensuring compliance focuses on four key activities. 

Compliance activities

  • Education

    EECA will provide guidance, information and support to help regulated parties understand: 

    • their legal obligations  
    • relevant legislation and standards  
    • the processes and tools available to support compliance.  

  • Surveying, monitoring and inspecting

    EECA will monitor compliance through activities such as: 

    • reviewing product registration and test information  
    • monitoring online and printed product advertising  
    • conducting site visits and product labelling surveys  
    • check testing regulated products. 

  • Investigation

    EECA may investigate where non-compliance is suspected. Investigations help establish the facts and determine whether further action is required. 

  • Intervention and Enforcement

    Where non-compliance is identified or suspected, EECA may take proportionate action to address the issue and prevent ongoing non-compliance. Depending on the circumstances, this may include providing advice, issuing a failure-to-comply notice, issuing a warning, or pursuing prosecution. Prosecution can result in a fine of up to $10,000 per offence. 

    EECA may publish: 

    • warning letters  
    • prosecutions  
    • outcomes of enforcement action.  

We focus on impact

We target our compliance activities where they are likely to have the greatest impact, taking into account factors such as potential harm, intelligence, previous compliance history and emerging market risks. 

How to comply with regulations

Find out what you need to do to comply with the regulations in place to improve the energy efficiency of residential, commercial, and industrial products sold in New Zealand and Australia.

  • Manufacturers and importers

    Find out your legal obligations if you import or manufacture regulated products in New Zealand.

  • Retailers

    Find out your legal obligations if you sell, hire, lease, or provide hire purchase of regulated products in New Zealand.

Product testing programme 

EECA runs a programme to test regulated products sold in New Zealand to check if: 

  • products comply with Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), and/or Mandatory Energy Performance Labelling (MEPL) requirements 
  • product performance meets the manufacturer’s/importer’s claims. 

Read the results of our check testing programme 

Product testing process

  • Initial screening 

    EECA selects and purchases products from the market, and sends them to  an independent, internationally accredited laboratory for testing. The laboratory conducts testing and provides a report containing the test method, test data, and results. 

    All test results are reviewed by EECA technical experts and assessed against the applicable regulatory requirements. EECA notifies the manufacturer or importer of the outcome. 

  • Further testing of products that fail 

    If the product fails the first round of testing, EECA may purchase additional units of the same model, then additional testing may be conducted to provide further evidence and support EECA's compliance assessment. 

  • Enforcement action on failed products 

    Testing failures can result in compliance or enforcement action against the manufacturer/importer. 

    Depending on the circumstances, the action may include providing advice, issuing a failure-to-comply notice, issuing a warning, or pursuing prosecution.

  • Log a complaint of non-compliance

    Let us know if a company is not complying with the Energy Using Products Regulations or Vehicle Energy Economy Labelling Regulations. 

    Report non-compliance 

Import data

EECA has access to import data for regulated products and their importers/manufacturers under an information disclosure agreement with the New Zealand Customs Service. 

We use the data to work with importers/manufacturers in meeting their obligations under the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002 and monitor compliance. 

EECA compliance policy