Who must comply with GEMS (Greenhouse + Energy Minimum Standards)?

Regulated products must meet energy efficiency MEPS + display label.

The Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 and the product-specific GEMS Determinations made under it set Minimum Energy Performance Standards, test methods and, for some products, energy rating labelling for appliances and equipment sold in Australia. A regulated product model, identified by brand, model number and energy performance characteristics, must be registered with the GEMS Regulator before it is supplied; only one registration can exist for a model or family of models at a time, and registrations typically run for 5 years. Registration requires test results against the applicable Australian, joint Australian/New Zealand or international standard and payment of a fee. The Regulator runs check testing and market surveillance of registered models in store and online. A new registration platform, RECAP, replaces the Energy Rating Product Registration System from 6 October 2026.

Applies only if you import or supply GEMS-regulated appliances or equipment. Whether it applies turns on a fact that no industry, structure or size settles on its own.

How the regulator frames it: Suppliers of product models covered by a GEMS Determination in Australia, typically the manufacturer or importer that registers the model; regulated products must be registered before they can be sold. Models supplied under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement that are registered in New Zealand and manufactured in or imported through New Zealand do not need Australian registration.

What triggers it: Planning to supply a product model of a regulated type (for example LED lamps, external power supplies or commercial ice makers) that is not excluded by its Determination and is not already registered.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (3 of 35: only if a further fact applies; 32 of 35: no).

Structure does not change the answer in the 3 industries it can reach: for every structure the answer is "only if a further fact applies".

Size does not change the answer in the 3 industries it can reach: at every size band the answer is "only if a further fact applies".

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

• Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires a trigger outside this questionnaire.
• Pty Ltd company in retail trade with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: check whether it applies. applies only if you import or supply GEMS-regulated appliances or equipment.

The engine shows this obligation as "check whether this applies" when a business has industry: Retail trade / E-commerce & online retail / Manufacturing. It then applies only if you import or supply GEMS-regulated appliances or equipment. That fact is not something Rules Mate can infer from industry, structure or size.

When due

Before the model is first supplied; the Regulator aims to process applications within 14 days. Registration is renewed when it lapses (typically after 5 years) or re-done when a Determination's requirements are updated.

Frequency

Ongoing

Evidence to keep

Registration number for each model (Australian numbers take the form 'AXX0000'); test reports showing the model meets the Minimum Energy Performance Standards and supports any star rating; applicant account with an Authorising Officer and Authorised Representatives; registration fee receipts; labelling records where a label is required; responses to check-testing or market-surveillance enquiries.

Status

Current

Priority

Medium

Maximum penalty: The GEMS Regulator responds proportionately: informal and administrative action for first and less serious contraventions, then suspension or cancellation of a model's registration, enforceable undertakings, infringement notices, civil penalty orders and injunctions for deliberate or continuing non-compliance with the GEMS Act 2012. Penalty-unit amounts were not restated here.

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

• Hold AER authorisation as energy retailer: Selling electricity or gas to small customers requires AER retailer authorisation.
• Register with AEMO for National Electricity Market participation: Generators + retailers + market participants must register with AEMO and meet NER obligations.

Rules Mate tracks 6 published obligations tagged "energy", 3 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated medium priority, and is an ongoing duty.

Free tools that help with this obligation:

• Compliance calendar builder