Pursuant to Regulation 87 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 ("the Regulations"), I, Mark Stephen Wogan, Manager, Energy Safety, give the following notice.
N o t i c e
1. Short title and commencement-(1) This notice is the Electricity Regulations (Prohibited Electrical Fitting - Outlet Device) Notice 2013.
(2) This prohibition is to take effect on and from the date following the date of publication of this notice in the New Zealand Gazette.
2. Prohibited equipment-The manufacture, importation, sale (including offer to sell), and use of the electrical fitting, being an Outlet Device as prescribed in this notice, is prohibited.
3. Description-(1) The fittings meeting the definition of an "Outlet Device" to which this notice applies are products generally known as "Plug Adaptors" or "Travel Adaptors" as further described below. The prohibited Outlet Devices have been sold on-line with electrical appliances, to allow their connection to the New Zealand type socket-outlets. The prohibited Outlet Devices are also likely to be, or have been, available elsewhere in New Zealand.
(2) The prohibited Outlet Device has a known marking that includes "KY-003 6 A 125V/250V", although the prohibited fitting may also have different or no marking present.
(3) The approximate overall dimensions of the prohibited Outlet Device are: 3.3 x 1.5 x 4.1 cm.
(4) The prohibited Outlet Device has a plastic body, which has two un-parallel, un-insulated, metal plated flat plug pins with rounded ends, each of which has a central hole at the pin tip end. The body at the opposite end to the plug pins has two corresponding socket apertures intended to accommodate the plug pins of a non-New Zealand type plug. The plastic body colour can vary and the fitting body is in two parts that are held together with a single fixing screw.
(5) The images shown below are showing views of one sample of the prohibited Outlet Device for identification purposes:


4. Details of hazard-The prohibited Outlet Device may be electrically unsafe in that:
(a) the prohibited fitting has been known to come apart when inserted into a socket-outlet, leaving exposed live parts on the socket-outlet face. Therefore, the Outlet Device may constitute an electric shock hazard to anyone in the proximity of the socket-outlet into which the fitting has been inserted; and
(b) the prohibited Outlet Device allows an appliance plug to be incorrectly inserted into the fitting. This may constitute an electric shock hazard to the user, if they should incorrectly insert a single plug pin into the socket-outlet portion of the prohibited Outlet Device, as it is then possible to come into contact with the other plug pin that is exposed and may be live.
5. Reasons for prohibition-The prohibited Outlet Devices described in this notice are, or may be, electrically unsafe, in that there is significant risk that a person may suffer harm as a result of dangers arising from use of, or passage of electricity through, the fittings. The prohibited Outlet Devices are non-compliant in that:
- with respect to Regulation 80(2)(a) of the Regulations, the Outlet Devices do not comply with standards AS/NZS 3820 or AS/NZS 3122; and
- the Outlet Devices are electrically unsafe, as defined in Regulation 5 of the Regulations.
Dated at Wellington this 29th day of January 2013.
MARK STEPHEN WOGAN, Manager, Energy Safety, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.