- Published:
- Thursday 24 September 2026 at 1:52 pm
Budget retailer Panda Mart has been fined $80,000 without conviction after an Energy Safe Victoria investigation uncovered hundreds of non-compliant household electrical products, including dangerous lamps that put shoppers at risk of electric shock.
The company pleaded guilty to 15 charges under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 for offering to supply a range of electrical equipment that didn’t meet mandatory safety requirements, including equipment that did not display the required Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM).
Among the products were portable lamp models with serious safety defects, including inadequate insulation and exposed electrical parts that could deliver an electric shock if touched.
The offending conduct also involved adaptors, power boards, extension cords, USB chargers, LED globes and powered recliners.
Under the Electrical Equipment Safety Scheme (EESS), electrical products are classified as level 1 (low risk), level 2 (medium risk) or level 3 (high risk), with stricter requirements applying to higher-risk products.
Suppliers must be registered on EESS and ensure their products are safe, meet relevant standards and are registered where required. The RCM indicates a product meets the safety requirements to be legally sold in Australia.
In sentencing today at Frankston Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate Tan described the offending as “serious in nature” because of the risk of “death or physical harm to the end consumer who purchased these items”.
His Honour said the penalty was “about sending a message that there has to be a level of diligence because people’s safety is at risk”.
A tip-off from a New Zealand regulator prompted Energy Safe to investigate Panda Mart in March 2025, with authorised officers seizing suspected non-compliant electrical products from its Cranbourne store and Dandenong warehouse, including more than 900 lamps across 52 models.
Testing by Energy Safe’s equipment safety compliance engineers found extensive non-compliance across the products examined, with nine lamp models deemed immediately unsafe.
The investigation also confirmed Panda Mart had imported the products for sale, making it the Responsible Supplier under EESS, but had not registered itself or its level 2 and level 3 products as required.
Energy Safe CEO Leanne Hughson said the outcome should serve as a reminder to retailers to take their electrical safety obligations seriously.
“Electrical safety isn’t optional. Every retailer has a responsibility to make sure the electrical products they sell meet Australia’s safety requirements before they reach consumers,” Ms Hughson said.
“Those requirements help protect people from electric shock, burns and house fires, and Victorians should be able to trust that the electrical products they bring into their homes are safe.”
“Shoppers can also reduce their risk by checking for the Regulatory Compliance Mark before buying an electrical product, which indicates it meets Australian standards.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a recall of affected lamp models on 27 March 2025, and Energy Safe subsequently prohibited Panda Mart from supplying portable lamps in Victoria unless the regulator had assessed the products as compliant with the relevant safety standards.
The public can find more information about buying safe appliances and report safety issues or concerns via the Energy Safe website.
Energy Safe. Always.
Media contact: April Dudgeon | 0498 188 117 | media@energysafe.vic.gov.au
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