Electrical safety
NZ law requires all electrical appliance items sold to consumers to be safe.
Can I sell secondhand electrical items?
Yes! But, all secondhand electrical items sold in New Zealand must still be electrically safe. A way of demonstrating this is to have them tested to Australian and New Zealand Electrical Safety Standard (AS/NZS) 5761.
If you're not sure, you can sell an item with the plug removed.
For more details, see MBIE’s advice .
Required paperwork
Some electrical items require a supplier declaration of compliance (SDoC) before they can be sold. Some also require safety approval from the Government or certification.
MBIE
- The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s Energy Safety team can ask for your documentation at any time.
- You must supply it within 10 days or you risk a $3,000 fine for a company, or a $1,000 fine if you are an individual.
- Members who fail to supply the requested documentation to Energy Safety risk having listings removed and their membership restricted or suspended.
Trade Me
- To sell your item on Trade Me, you must have your documentation and be prepared to supply it where required
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- If requested, we expect this to be supplied within 48 hours.
- Members who fail to supply the requested documentation to Trade Me risk having listings removed and their membership restricted or suspended.
Electrical plugs
Items with foreign plugs can't be listed or sold.
All items with electrical plugs must:
- have New Zealand plugs
- have insulation on the pins
- meet any regulatory requirements.
Source: Worksafe
Adapters
Even with an adapter, items with foreign plugs can't be listed or sold.
For example, you can't sell a phone with a charger that uses a UK plug with an adapter.
Our electrical safety policy on Trade Me.