Australia (Victoria) · Enforcement & legal proceedings · Issue #4 · 28/09 – 04/10
Victoria fines Panda Mart over non-compliant electrical products
Energy Safe Victoria says Panda Mart pleaded guilty to 15 charges after an investigation found hundreds of non-compliant electrical products, including nine lamp models judged immediately unsafe.
What the primary source says
Energy Safe Victoria published its enforcement outcome on 24 September 2026 after Panda Mart was fined $80,000 without conviction and pleaded guilty to 15 charges under Victoria’s Electricity Safety Act 1998. The regulator said the case involved hundreds of non-compliant household electrical products, including lamps with inadequate insulation and exposed electrical parts that could expose shoppers to electric shock. Other products included adaptors, power boards, extension cords, USB chargers, LED globes and powered recliners.
Energy Safe said officers seized more than 900 lamps across 52 models during the investigation and that testing found nine lamp models immediately unsafe. It also said Panda Mart had imported the products for sale but was not registered as required under the Electrical Equipment Safety Scheme. The outcome is a confirmed regulatory prosecution and finding of non-compliance; it does not mean every product sold by the retailer was unsafe. Shoppers are advised to check for the Regulatory Compliance Mark when buying electrical products.
Why it matters
The useful distinction
Retailer and importer checks matter for electrical goods sold online or in stores; the RCM is a practical Australian signal that the product has met the relevant legal safety requirements.
This briefing is an independent summary of the evidence sources below. Context-only links are not used as factual authority. It does not establish that a product, organisation or listing is unsafe, unlawful or non-compliant beyond what the evidence reports.