Australian trade measurement laws

Trade measurement laws make sure Australian consumers get what they pay for. They regulate transactions where you determine the price by measurement, such as for petrol or meat sales.

Australia’s trade measurement laws cover:

• the definition of the legal units of measurement
• the use of measuring instruments for trade
• testing and verification of measuring instruments
• transactions by measurement
• pre-packed articles and their labels
• licenses that businesses require to verify measuring instruments
• licences required for public weighbridges.

The National Measurement Institute (NMI) administers Australia’s trade measurement laws:

• National Measurement Act 1960
• National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009.

NMI also maintains measurement standards and provides the legal and technical framework for the standards.

All businesses must comply with trade measurement laws if they:

• sell goods by measurement (such as weighing fruit and vegetables for sale)
• manufacture, pack, import or sell pre-packaged goods
• supply or maintain measuring instruments.

The laws apply to both wholesale and retail businesses. If your business is caught short-measuring customers (giving them less than the amount you claim), you could be fined up to:

• $210,000 per offence as a company
• $42,000 per offence as an individual.

Manufacturers, packers, importers and retailers have a duty to carry out sufficient checks to ensure that all batches of pre-packaged articles meet requirements for correct measurement. This includes the position, size and format of measurement labels.

Do you price your goods or services using measurement? If you do, you’ll need to make sure a licensed technician approves and verifies your measuring equipment. For example, if you use:

• scales to determine the weight of meat to set meat prices
• measuring tapes to work out the length of fabric and its price
• petrol pumps to measure the volume of fuel and its price for vehicles.

If you use a measuring instrument to sell goods, you must make sure it is:

• an approved type, that is suitable for its intended purpose
• verified before use by a licensed technician
• used in the correct manner (for example, level and indicating zero before use)
• kept clean and in good working order
• verified after each repair or adjustment.

If you use approved and verified equipment, you will:

• satisfy your customers by accurately filling orders
• avoid fines
• save money by not unintentionally giving away product.

Equipment does not need approval from the National Measurement Institute (NMI) if it is not used for trade.

Approval of measuring equipment

If you make, sell or intend to purchase measurement equipment for trade, its design must have National Measurement Institute (NMI) approval. You can ask if measuring equipment has NMI approval before you buy the equipment.

• in response to a complaint or enquiry from a consumer
• as part of a trade measurement compliance inspection program.