Advisory Working Group

Industry Practices for Sanitation Products

1. Introduction

SPASA has received feedback from members who manufacture sanitisation products, particularly chlorine generators, highlighting concerns about inconsistent chlorine output claims, labelling practices, and overall product transparency. Specifically, disparities in the methods used to measure chlorine output, combined with unclear, ambiguous, or misleading claims, have caused confusion among consumers, pool professionals, and industry stakeholders. These discrepancies have raised concerns around product performance, safety, and regulatory compliance.

As the peak industry body, SPASA acknowledges these concerns and, with a commitment to supporting industry integrity, believes it is essential to address these issues through the establishment of standardised industry practices.

To this end, SPASA is pleased to facilitate the formation of a dedicated Advisory Working Group tasked with discussing and developing standardised industry practices. These practices will aim to ensure that manufacturer claims are verifiable, enabling consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, and that chlorine generator products meet the highest industry benchmarks for safety and performance.

By engaging with key stakeholders, SPASA seeks to promote accountability, foster innovation, and ensure that products are safe, reliable, and fully transparent for all end users.

2. Objective and Scope of the Advisory Working Group

The primary aim of this Advisory Working Group is to develop standardised industry practices for sanitation products, focusing on key areas such as accurate output claims, product labelling, certification, and consumer education.

Through collaboration, the Advisory Working Group will focus and consider the following key areas:

• Establishing Standardised Testing Methods: Defining standardised testing protocols for chlorine output measurement to ensure consistency across all manufacturers.

• Claims Validation: Ensure products making claims like "chlorine-free" or "natural" are backed by evidence and meet the criteria for those terms..

• Water Quality Standards: Ensure that any claims suggesting pool water is safe to drink comply with national standards (e.g., Australian Drinking Water Guidelines) and are independently certified.

• Promoting Consumer Education: Providing educational materials and resources to manufacturers, retailers, and end users on the importance of accurate chlorine output reporting.

• Other Parameters: Consider other systems the Advisory Working Group considers should be discussed as part of this process. Example: secondary or complementary systems.

Through these objectives, SPASA aims to create stronger industry credibility, fair competition, and better consumer protection.

3. Key Considerations and Discussion Points

During the formation and development of these set of industry standards, guidelines, or best practice documentation standards, the working group will consider the following additional factors:

• Scientific Language: The adoption of consistent, standardised scientific terminology to accurately describe sanitation technology.

• Origin Claims: Discuss claims around products that are "Australian Made", “Other Origins” or that are assembled in a particular region.

• Sanitation Compatibility: Discuss product compatibility claims in relation to exclusive or proprietary claims.

• Industry Alignment: Investigate local and international standards for industry alignment.

• Costs: Explore how to handle resistance from manufacturers who may be concerned that these standards will increase production costs or affect marketing strategies.

4. Call for Participation

SPASA is now inviting interested stakeholders to express their interest in joining this Working Advisory Group. Participation is open to:

SPASA members who are:

• Manufacturers: Companies that design and manufacture sanitation products.
• Technology Experts: Specialists in pool technology, particularly in relation to water disinfection systems.

By joining the Working Advisory Group, participants will have the opportunity to contribute to the creation of fair and transparent protocols that will benefit the entire industry, improve consumer confidence, and help foster innovation in sanitation technology.

5. Kick Off Meeting

The purpose of the kick-off meeting is to initiate discussions regarding the development of standardised industry practices for sanitation products and to align all stakeholders on the goals, expectations, and next steps for the Working Advisory Group.

Note: Kick Off Meeting details will be scheduled on the formation of the Working Advisory Group members.

Register below your expression of interest below before 21st May 2024.