A growing compliance issue highlighted in Australia’s manufacturing sector has broader implications for safety and regulation across multiple industries, according to Weld Australia, which has linked recent concerns about non-compliant e-bikes to what it describes as a wider “tick-and-flick” culture affecting manufacturing, construction and infrastructure.
The comments follow recent ABC reporting that identified a rise in high-powered e-bikes entering the Australian market, some of which are legally imported and sold but not permitted for use under Australian road rules. The ABC report also linked the trend to increased injuries, fatalities and enforcement challenges.
Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden said the issue reflects systemic weaknesses in compliance verification that extend beyond e-bikes and into manufacturing and related sectors.
“The e-bike story is not really about e-bikes,” Crittenden said. “It’s about what happens when compliance becomes a paperwork exercise rather than a verification process.”
He said there is a broader assumption within parts of the system that products comply once documentation is provided, rather than through independent verification.
“Australia has developed a dangerous habit of assuming compliance rather than verifying it. Products arrive in the country, documentation is provided, boxes are ticked, and everyone assumes the product complies with Australian requirements. Too often, nobody actually checks,” he said.
According to the ABC, regulatory changes introduced in 2021 removed key import requirements for e-bikes as part of efforts to reduce red tape. Industry stakeholders have argued those changes contributed to increased availability of high-powered e-bikes in the domestic market.
Crittenden said the same structural issues are evident across manufacturing, construction, transport and energy sectors, where imported products may enter the market under lighter scrutiny compared to locally manufactured goods that must meet certification and inspection requirements.
“When governments focus exclusively on reducing red tape without considering verification and enforcement, the result is often more risk, more remediation, more enforcement costs and, in some cases, more injuries and deaths,” he said.
“Compliance is not red tape. Compliance is the mechanism that protects consumers, workers, taxpayers and businesses.”
Weld Australia has also raised concerns about imported fabricated steel and other manufactured products entering Australia without what it describes as sufficient independent verification against Australian Standards. The organisation says this raises broader questions around safety, durability and value for money in infrastructure projects.
Examples cited in its broader advocacy include concerns previously raised in relation to infrastructure assets such as stadium and transport projects, where questions have been discussed publicly about whether imported components consistently meet required standards.
“Infrastructure, pressure equipment, fabricated steel, renewable energy assets, water heating systems—these products don’t become safe simply because someone signs a declaration,” Crittenden said. “Real compliance requires independent verification.”
Weld Australia is currently working with industry partners to develop the National Fabrication Authority (NFA), an independent, not-for-profit body aimed at verifying compliance with Australian Standards for fabricated steel products, whether produced domestically or overseas.
The organisation argues that a more consistent verification approach across high-risk product categories could reduce safety risks and long-term remediation costs.
“If the e-bike story tells us anything, it’s that self-declaration and paperwork are not enough,” Crittenden said. “We need systems that verify compliance before products reach consumers, not investigations after people have been injured. The cost of verification is tiny compared with the cost of failure.”
He said Australia should move towards a more verification-focused regulatory model rather than relying heavily on documentation-based compliance systems.
“Every major accident, every product recall, every remediation project and every enforcement campaign ultimately costs far more than getting compliance right in the first place,” he said.
