- Australian standards and testing methods for PPE and hand sanitiser
- Australian laboratories with PPE and hand sanitiser testing capabilities. This includes:
- laboratories with National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation for relevant testing capabilities
- ‘self-declared’ laboratories, which are labs without NATA accreditation who have advised that they can issue formal test reports in accordance with the nominated Australian Standards on behalf of their organisation for the relevant PPE and/or hand sanitiser test(s)
Self declared laboratories may not have been independently assessed. It is recommended advice is sought from relevant regulators, customers and other stakeholders to confirm the suitability of non-accredited laboratory results for your needs.
You can also read the Industry User Guide 8: Working with NATA Accredited Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) testing laboratories on the NATA website for information on the benefits of using NATA accredited labs.
Some PPE and hand sanitisers are subject to the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. We recommend you seek advice about regulatory requirements specific to your product. Regulatory requirements are not part of the scope of this information and advice on such matters should be sought from the relevant authority.
| PPE Product Category | Australian or Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard | Test Method Standards | Test Method Description | NATA Accredited laboratories by test method# | Laboratories with self-declared testing capability (non-NATA accredited)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surgical Masks - Levels 1-3 and Respirators - P1, P2, P3 | AS 4381:2015 | ASTM F2101-14 or EN 14683:2014 | Bacterial Filtration Efficiency | CSIRO# | TestLabs* |
| EN14683:2014 | Differential Pressure Drop | CSIRO#, NMI# | TestLabs* | ||
| ASTMF1862/F1862M/13 or ISO 22609 | Synthetic Blood Penetration | CSIRO#, NMI# | TestLabs*, VicLab* | ||
| AS ISO 13485 for Manufacturing | Quality Management System | ||||
| AS/NZS 1716:2012 | AS/NZS 1716 Appendix I | Particle filtration efficiency | TestLabs*, TestSafe NSW*, VicLab* | ||
| AS/NZS 1716 Appendix G | Inhalation resistance | NMI*, TestLabs*, TestLabs*, TestSafe NSW*, VicLab* | |||
| AS/NZS 1716 Appendix G | Exhalation resistance | NMI*, TestLabs*, TestSafe NSW*, VicLab* | |||
| AS/NZS 1716 Appendix D | Facial Fit-Inward leakage | TestSafe NSW*, VicLab* | |||
| AS/NZS 1716 Appendix E5.6 | Simulated Wear | TestLabs*, TestSafe NSW*, VicLab* | |||
| AS/NZS 1716 Appendix F | Exhalation valve leakage if fitted | TestSafe NSW*, VicLab* | |||
| Calibration of required reference equipment (flowmeters, pressure indicators, reference gas mixtures etc.) | Contact NATA for advice on accredited laboratories for your specific need | ||||
| Protective Clothing | AS 3789.6-1996 | AS 2001.2.3 | Determination of breaking force and extension of textile fabrics | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* |
| AS 2001.2.5 | Determination of the number of threads per unit length in woven fabric | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| AS 2001.2.12 | Determination of width of fabrics | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | ||
| AS 2001.2.13 | Determination of mass per unit area and mass per unit length of fabrics | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | ||
| AS 2001.2.16 | Determination of water repellency of textile surfaces—Spray rating test | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | ||
| AS 2001.3.6 | Determination of cuprammonium fluidity of cotton and cellulosic man-made fibres | AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| AS 2001.4.3 | Determination of colourfastness to rubbing | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | ||
| AS 2001.4.8/AS 2001.4.E01/ISO 105-E01 | Determination of colourfastness to water | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | ||
| AS 2001.4.15 | Determination of colourfastness to washing | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| AS 2001.4.17 | Determination of colourfastness to perspiration | AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | ||
| AS 2001.4.21 | Determination of colourfastness to light using an artificial light source (mercury vapour, tungsten filament, internally phosphor-coated lamp) | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing#, VicLab# |
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| AS 2001.5.5 | Determination of dimensional change in laundering of textile fabrics and garments—Cube machine method | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| AS 2001.7 | Quantitative analysis of fibre mixtures | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| AS 3789.6 App C | Method for determination of oil repellency | AWTA Product Testing* | |||
| AS 3789.6 App D | Method for determination of pilling and fuzzing | AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| BS 4032 | Method of test for the determination of certain water- or alkali-soluble additives in cellulosic or synthetic fibres, yarns and fabrics or yarns and fabrics made from blends of such fibres | AWTA Product Testing* | |||
| ISO 7211.3 | Determination of crimp of yarn in fabric | AWTA Product Testing# | |||
| AS 3789.2–1991 | N/A | Refers to AS 3789.6 | N/A | N/A | |
| AS/NZS ISO 6529:2006 | ASTM F1862, ISO 22609 | Synthetic Blood Penetration | VicLab* | ||
| AS/NZS 4501.1:2008 | N/A | Currently no testing referenced in this Standard | N/A | N/A | |
| AS/NZS 4501.2:2006 (identical adoption of EN 340-2004) |
EN 420 | For type testing and licensing the entire standard must be tested and adhered to | VicLab# | ||
| EN 1811 | AWTA Product Testing*, VicLab* | ||||
| EN ISO 4045 | VicLab# | ||||
| EN 1413 | AWTA Product Testing*, VicLab* | ||||
| ISO 105-EO4 | Australian Textile Mills Pty Ltd#, AWTA Product Testing# | ||||
| EN 14362.1 | AWTA Product Testing*, VicLab* | ||||
| ISO 105-B02 | AWTA Product Testing# | VicLab* | |||
| Gloves | AS/NZS 4179:2014 | N/A | Tests are detailed within the Standard | Enersol Pty Limited#, VicLab# | |
| AS/NZS 4011.1:2014 | N/A | Tests are detailed within the Standard | Therapeutic Goods Administration#, VicLab# | ||
| AS/NZS 4011.2:2014 | N/A | Tests are detailed within the Standard | VicLab# | ||
| AS/NZS 2161.10.1:2005 Rec:2016 | N/A | Tests are detailed within the Standard | VicLab# | ||
| Eye and Face Protection | AS/NZS 1337.1:2010 | UNSW ORLAB# | NMI (optical testing)* VicLab - (only to clauses applicable as to AS 4067)* |
||
| Sterility Testing - General | Contact NATA | ||||
| Hand Sanitisers | Nil | EN13727 | in vitro test – testing for reduction in viable counts of transient organisms in labware (e.g. test tubes), under clean conditions, compared with a control. | Eurofins AMS# Mérieux NutriSciences# |
|
| EN 1500 | in vivo test – testing for reduction in transient organisms on human test subjects (approximately 20), with reduction to be not significantly smaller than that produced by a reference hand rub (control) with propran-2-ol 60% v/v. | Eurofins AMS# Mérieux NutriSciences# |
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| In house method VL 315 based on AOAC Official Method 972.11 and 972.10 | Method involves identification and quantitation of Ethanol and/or Iso-propanol in antiseptic hand rubs (sanitisers) using Gas Chromatography with duel separation columns. The method was validated to cover a range of percentages (15% - 85 % v/v, with a limit of reporting of 5% v/v). The method will be used to identify and ensure the affective concentrations of the appropriate alcohols are incorporated into the sanitiser. | NMI# |
# Note: Laboratories included in this column on advice from NATA.
* Note: Laboratories are included in this column on the basis that they have provided advice in writing that they have capabilities to issue formal test reports in accordance with the nominated Australian Standards on behalf of their organisation for the relevant test shown.
Disclaimer
This publication provides reference material for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal or other professional advice. The Australian Technical Infrastructure Alliance and our department disclaim liability, to the extent permitted by law, for any liabilities, losses, damages and costs arising from relying on the information in this publication. You should seek legal or other professional advice for your specific circumstances. Any references to third-party organisations do not constitute endorsement of those organisations or their products or services.