Overview
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water consulted on possible changes to the energy efficiency requirements applying to external power supplies (EPS) sold, supplied or imported into Australia or New Zealand. A consultation regulation impact statement was released for comment on the 17 March 2025 for a six week period. An online forum was held during the consultation period, where we presented findings from the analysis and the underlying assumptions and inputs and participants had the option to ask questions.
The proposed changes would update Australian and New Zealand regulations to increase minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) applying to EPS, as well as expanding the scope of products covered by MEPS.
If approved by Energy Ministers, these new requirements would be established in Australia under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (“the GEMS Act”) and in New Zealand under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) Act 2000, and the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002.
The consultation regulation impact statement (RIS) set out a range of options to improve the energy efficiency of external power supplies. The RIS recommended increasing the MEPS for EPS to Mark VI of the International Efficiency Marking Protocol (IEMP) from 2025 and expanding the scope to include multiple voltage (simultaneous output) devices and adaptive voltage EPS. The RIS also recommended a further increase in MEPS to Mark VII two years after this higher level comes into force in the United States or the European Union.
