Weld Australia, the peak body representing welding professionals across Australia, has called on the federal government to introduce a national inspection regime for imported fabricated steel and other high-risk goods.
Weld Australia chief executive officer Geoff Crittenden said thousands of tonnes of imported fabricated steel – used in critical infrastructure such as wind towers, road gantries, and energy systems – are arriving in Australia without any independent inspection to ensure they meet Australian standards.
“If it’s made in Australia, it must comply with Australian standards,” Crittenden said. “Local manufacturers know this, and they’re held to it. So why is it that goods manufactured offshore are not subject to the same scrutiny once they arrive?”
The organisation has warned that a lack of local compliance checks places Australians at serious risk.
He pointed to examples such as the collapse of a turbine, cracking in towers, and blade failures as examples of how drastically wrong things can go if the inspection rules are not tightened.
Recently recalled water heaters and heat pumps were found to contain substandard steel. They included units that have imploded or leaked flammable gas and are examples of the dangers that arise from lax inspection regimes.
“These aren’t isolated cases. They’re symptoms of a broken system,” Crittenden said. “We’ve seen road signs collapse, renewable energy transformers fail within a year, and mining and rail companies forced to fly engineers overseas to oversee quality control. That’s not a strategy. It’s a liability.”
Working towards a solution
To remedy this situation, Weld Australia has proposed that any imported fabricated steel must be inspected upon arrival by accredited professionals to ensure compliance with Australian or equivalent international standards.
It has also called for legislation to hold importers accountable for the safety of the goods brought into the country.
“In Europe, Japan and Canada, third-party certification and mandatory inspections have been standard practice for decades. Australia is lagging, and the public is taking the risk and paying the price,” Crittenden said.
Apart from the obvious benefit of safer products, the organisation added that the broader benefits of an inspection regime could lead to job creation and a level playing field for local manufacturers, who are often undercut by offshore producers operating without equivalent compliance obligations.
“It’s time to stop trusting paperwork from overseas and start validating compliance on our own soil. Public safety is not negotiable. It is time we acted like it.”
Image: Sourced from website
Engineers Australia calls on government to appoint national chief engineer
