Living with a Time Bomb !

It is estimated that thirteen thousand Australian families are blissfully sleeping in houses with a ticking time bomb heading towards detonation.   Between 2010 -2013 Infinity brand electrical cable imported from China was used in the wiring of new homes and in replacement and extensions across the renovation market.  This cable has a fatal flaw.

It fails to meet the appropriate Australian standard because the insulation protecting the wires in the cable that carry electricity is not up to standard and will inevitably become brittle, resulting in the insulation breaking - leading to house fires and electrocution for anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with the wiring.

A total recall of Infinity cable has been ordered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ( ACCC ) but so far only one percent of restoration has been achieved, and there is just nine months remaining before the faulty insulation starts to break down.  This urgency is causing the ACCC to go public with warnings to alert householders and speed up the restoration process.

Unfortunately, tracking down just where this cable has been used is proving difficult.  Many electricians are poor record keepers and trying to remember which brand of cable was used in precisely which home jobs over a time period of three years is not possible with pin point accuracy. There is a risk that many homes will escape detection - with possible fatal results.

This disaster is likely to run to over a hundred million dollars in rectification costs and it throws a spotlight on the need for imports into this country to be checked to ensure they meet Australian standards.  We have just had a health scare over contaminated food and where an Australian safety standard exists it should be compulsory for the importer to provide documentation to guarantee that these standards are being met.    Without such documentation, the material would need to be tested here for compliance before being released by customs.

The big question is what comes next in the search to rectify this Infinity cable problem.  With just nine months remaining before insulation breaching starts to occur and only one percent of restoration achieved, it is almost inevitable that most of the affected homes will not be remedied before the danger threshold arrives.   The ACCC is concerned that it will remain a forgotten issue - until a house fire brings it to public attention.

Hopefully, raising this question in the media will jog the memory of those who are now living in a home built in the danger period or who have had even minor electrical wiring done during that time. Infinity cable carries a brand and it would certainly be worth the trouble to have a look in the roof space to determine what brand of cable has been used, or to pay for an electrician to check and ensure the house you live in is safe.

Wiring that meets the Australian standard has a guaranteed life of at least forty years.  In this case, it seems that a lower grade insulation was used to keep costs down and now thirteen thousand home owners are at risk and it is quite possible that despite the ACCC warning much of the faulty cable will go undetected.  In the years ahead, faulty wiring will be a hazard quietly waiting to claim a victim.

This clearly sends a signal that our import checking procedures need review !