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Designation Requirements for Australia
Introduction
The governments of the United States and Australia signed binding exchange letters to implement Phase I of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement for the Conformity Assessment of Telecommunication Equipment (APEC Tel MRA) October 19, 2002.
The MRA between the US and Australia covers the recognition of testing laboratories and acceptance of test reports generated by those recognized labs.
Please note that formal recognition is optional.
Regulatory Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for regulating telecommunications and radiocommunications and managing the radiofrequency spectrum. ACMA administers the Australian MRA program.
ACMA allows manufacturers to issue a Supplier's Declaration of Conformity for telecom and EMC requirements.
ACMA classifies products into three conformity levels (Levels 1, 2 and 3). For the highest Level 3, ACMA requires that the test report be from a test lab that is accredited by an ILAC signatory accreditation body (AB). All current NIST Listed ABs are ILAC signatories. There are no products that require the use of an accredited lab that has also obtained formal ACMA recognition through the MRA. So, as noted below, formal recognition is not required.
US test labs are not required to obtain formal ACMA recognition for test reports to be accepted for regulatory purposes. Formal recognition is optional. However, test labs that obtain the formal recognition are included on a public list on ACMA’s website and can be viewed by suppliers. To access the list, select this link and search for ‘Overseas CABs’.
For CABs seeking formal ACMA recognition under the APEC TEL MRA, the standards available for recognition and the ISO/IEC 17025 Scope of Accreditation formatting requirements are listed in the table below.
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Standards Available for (Optional) Recognition |
Scope of Accreditation Requirements and Additional Information |
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The ACMA mandates technical requirements for certain radiocommunications transmitters. These are known as 'general standards'.
The general standards are covered in Schedule 5, Parts 2 through 15 of the 2023 version of the Radiocommunications Equipment (General) Rules 2021.
The ACMA’s website shows a table that lists the Applicable industry standards for each of the general standards. The table includes: the type of equipment, the general standard, the applicable industry standard (with version and date/year), and any modifications to the industry standards contained in the General Equipment Rules. EME standards are covered in Schedule 4 of the 2023 version of the Radiocommunications Equipment (General) Rules 2021 Scope of Accreditation Requirements The ISO/IEC 17025 scope must cite:
Radiocommunications Example:
For the Short Range Equipment standard, please note that this general standard should be referenced along with one or more of the testing methods referenced in Schedule 5, Part 15, subclause 53(4) a-f (e.g., (a) AS/NZS 4268; (b) ETSI EN 300 220-1; (c) ETSI EN 300 330; (d) ETSI EN 300 440; (e) ETSI EN 305 550-1; (f) Federal Communications Commission Rules Title 47 (Telecommunications) Part 15–Radio Frequency Devices.) SRD Example: Radiocommunications Equipment (General) Rules 2021 – Schedule 5, Part 15, Short Range Equipment Standard using AS/NZS 4268:2017 + Amd 1: 2021 ETSI EN 300 440 V2.2.1 (2018-07) EME Example:
Alternatively, ACMA can also recognize a lab just for the industry standards. |
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ACMA’s technical standards for telecommunications are listed in Schedule 1 to the Telecommunications (Labeling Notice for Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Instrument 2015 (latest version). Scope of Accreditation Requirements: The ISO/IEC 17025 scope must cite:
Telecommunications Example:
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| Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) |
The applicable EMC standards available for designation are limited to those listed in Serial 3, Serial 7, and Serial 54 under Part 2 of the ACMA-mandated Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) standards document found here. See page 1 (Before You Start section) for the detailed instructions on expiration dates and transition periods. Generally - when an existing standard is superseded by a newer version, in addition to the newer version, the existing standard will continue to be recognized as an applicable standard for a further two years after the publication date of the newer standard. After two years, however, only the newer version of the standard is recognized.” Scope of Accreditation Requirements: The ISO/IEC 17025 scope must cite:
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General CAB Requirements
The CAB must meet the following requirements:
Application Documents & Process
The CAB shall submit the following documents to NIST electronically at mra [at] nist.gov (mra[at]nist[dot]gov).
Once NIST has reviewed the application and confirmed its completeness, NIST will forward a designation request to ACMA, who, under the terms of the MRA, has up to 60 days to respond to NIST.
About the APEC TEL MRA
The initial signing of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (APEC Tel MRA) took place on May 8, 1998. Participation in the APEC Tel MRA is voluntary and includes two phases: Phase I for mutual acceptance of test reports and Phase II for certification or product approvals. The United States has implemented the APEC Tel MRA with many countries and more are forthcoming.
For Further Information
For questions about the US-Australia MRA, please contact the NIST Telecom MRA Program via mra [at] nist.gov (mra[at]nist[dot]gov).
Content last revised on July 5, 2023