External power supplies

The importance of external power supply efficiency

External power supplies are used to power products such as laptops, mobile phones, modems, printers, and other low voltage products. Millions of units are sold every year in New Zealand, often provided with the product they power. While their individual power consumption is small, because of their widespread use, small improvements in efficiency can lead to significant energy savings.

External power supplies are currently regulated for energy efficiency in Australia and New Zealand.

View the requirements in Australia(external link)

View the requirements in New Zealand

Consultation on policy options

The Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (CRIS) assesses policy options for increasing the energy efficiency of external power supplies in Australia and New Zealand.

The options in the CRIS are presented to align internationally and include:

expanding the scope,
increasing the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), and
introducing international test standards.

This CRIS was developed by DCCEEW on behalf of the E3 programme.

More information about the Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Programme

View the external power supplies CRIS [PDF 3.3 MB]

Consultation opened on the 17th of March and closes on the 28th of April.

The submissions received during the consultation period will be considered and a Decision Regulation Impact Statement prepared with final proposals for consideration by the Australian and New Zealand governments.

Submissions can be provided to star@eeca.govt.nz. Submissions are subject to the terms below.

View DCCEEW's consultation page(external link)

There will be a consultation forum on the 3rd of April 2025, including an opportunity to ask questions about the proposed policy options and their implementation. This will be held jointly by DCCEEW and EECA online on Microsoft Teams.

If you are interested in joining the online forum, please email GEMSProductReview@dcceew.gov.au no later than the 28th of March 2025 with the subject line: "EPS forum" and an invitation will be sent to you closer to the date for the forum.

Requirements of submissions

Data sharing

The Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) programme is an inter-governmental initiative by the Australian Government, states and territories and the New Zealand Government to improve the energy efficiency of equipment.

EECA may share your consultation submission with E3 members, primarily, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). Sharing of submissions is required to further develop policy options that align between Australia and New Zealand.

Information EECA shares with DCCEEW will be afforded the protections of the Australian Privacy Act 1988(external link) and the Archives Act 1983(external link). For more information, please visit DCCEEW’s Privacy Policy(external link).

The New Zealand Privacy Act 2020(external link) governs how your information is required to be collected, stored, used and shared.

DCCEEW and EECA may also share your information with parties involved in the development of policy options as well as other Australian Government agencies through data sharing relationships. Those parties are also bound by the mentioned New Zealand and Australian Acts.

If you do not want your information shared with DCCEEW, its service providers or other Australian Government entities, please specify this in your submission.

In-Confidence information

If you are sharing any in-confidence information in your submission and you do not want EECA to disclose it to any other parties, please specify this in your submission.

Privacy

The New Zealand Privacy Act 2020(external link) governs how your information is required to be collected, stored, used and shared. Please refer to EECA’s Privacy Policy(external link) to learn how we collect and handle data.

Official Information Act

Under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), information held by EECA is to be made available to requestors unless there are grounds for withholding it. The grounds for withholding information are outlined in the OIA.

If you are making a submission, you may wish to indicate any grounds for withholding information. Reasons for withholding information could include information that is commercially sensitive or personal (such as names or contact details). An automatic confidentiality disclaimer from your IT system will not be considered grounds for withholding information.

EECA will consider you preference when determining whether to release information. Any decisions to withhold information requested under the OIA may be reviewed by the Ombudsman.

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Regulatory requirements under review
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- External power supplies
  EECA and the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW) are consulting on policy options to improve the energy efficiency of external power supplies in New Zealand and Australia.