The standard, and why we do not quote a year
Australia and New Zealand use the Type I plug: two flat blades set at an angle, with an in-line vertical earth blade on three-pin versions.
The governing document is AS/NZS 3112 — Approval and test specification: Plugs and socket-outlets.
You will see competing edition references in circulation — AS/NZS 3112:2011+A1+A2 and AS/NZS 3112:2017+Amendment 1 — and the two are cited against each other in supplier documents. Because the applicable edition depends on the scheme and the date of assessment, our practice is to write the standard as AS/NZS 3112 without a year, and to let the certificate supply the edition that applies to that product. Quoting a year we have not verified is how a document ends up disagreeing with a certificate.
Insulated pins are not optional
Australian plugs are insulated-pin designs. The live and neutral blades carry insulating material partway along their length, so a partially withdrawn plug presents no live metal. This is a test item in its own right and it is one of the first things a conformity assessment checks.
RCM is a registration, not just a test
Australian and New Zealand compliance runs through RCM. Important distinction for buyers building a file:
A test report is not an RCM registration. RCM requires the responsible supplier established in Australia or New Zealand to register the product. A supplier can hold a valid test report and a valid certificate without the product being registered — those are separate steps, and the registration is the one the market surveillance authority looks for.
When you ask for Australian compliance documents, ask for both: the certificate covering the product, and confirmation of the RCM registration.
Current: check the certificate, not the standard
AS/NZS 3112 defines plugs at 10 A, 15 A and 20 A in the 250 V range. The standard covers all three. That does not mean a given supplier’s product, or a given certificate, covers all three.
This is the practical trap: a project needs 15 A, the supplier says “we hold AS/NZS 3112”, and the certificate turns out to be a 10 A certificate. The standard reference matched; the rating did not.
Check the current on the certificate, and never reuse a certificate number for a current rating outside its scope.
Because the three ratings sit on different pin geometries and different cable sizes, they are genuinely different products. A 15 A or 20 A assembly is not a relabelled 10 A assembly.
Checklist for Australian and New Zealand leads
- Standard written as
AS/NZS 3112, edition taken from the certificate. - Insulated pins confirmed on the drawing.
- Current on the certificate verified against the requirement — 10 A, 15 A and 20 A are separate scopes.
- Cable type and size on the certificate matched to the cable to be shipped.
- RCM registration confirmed separately from the test report.
- New Zealand included: the same standard applies, and Pacific markets using Type I plugs are served from the same tooling.
A note on adjacent markets
Two markets are often confused with Australia:
- China (
GB 1002) uses a superficially similar flat-blade layout but it is not equivalent toAS/NZS 3112, and products do not interchange. - Argentina also uses a Type I style plug, but not this standard.
Neither can be served from an AS/NZS 3112 certificate.
HENG-WELL supplies moulded power cords to AS/NZS 3112 and other Type I markets. Tell us the equipment, the current required and the destination, and we will confirm which certificate and which rating apply.
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