Gas appliance safety

New Zealand law requires all gas appliances for sale must be safe.

To show they're safe, gas appliances require a Supplier Declaration of Compliance (SDoC) before they can be sold. In order to sell your item on Trade Me, you must have this documentation and be prepared to supply it where required.

The importer or manufacturer of the gas appliance must also have registered the gas appliance on Energy Safety's Gas Appliance Database.  If it is not in the database, it cannot be legally sold in New Zealand.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s Work 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're an individual.

We also undertake regular checks, and will ask for this documentation as well. 

We expect you to supply the documentation within 24 hours, if requested. Members who fail to supply the requested documentation to either Energy Safety, or Trade Me, risk a suspension or closure of their membership.

Double duty

Appliances supplied by both electricity and gas will have obligations under both electricity and gas regulations. For example, a gas water heater that needs an electrical supply is both a gas appliance and an electrical appliance.

Caravans and motorhomes

Many caravans have gas cookers and other gas appliances installed and are therefore subject to the same regulations – they're required to be declared to the Gas Appliance Database and have the appropriate documentation.

If you're importing a caravan you are deemed an ‘importer’ and you must make the declaration before listing the unit on Trade Me.

Check out our Trust and Safety blog post for some more details.

Where can I get some more info?

• For more information on the supply of gas appliances, check out Energy Safety's guide to supplying safe electrical and gas products.

• Read more about the gas appliance safety regime on the Energy Safety website.