Bulk Australian Mains Cable

Where to use Australian cable?

As well as having their own mains plug type, Australia and New Zealand have different type of power cable from the rest of the world, which must be used there. We also recommend its use in: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and any other Pacific islands using the Australian-type plug, including American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Overview of Australian mains flex

The dimensions, construction, and testing for Australasian flexible mains power cables used in Australia and New Zealand are specified in national standards documents AS/NZS 3008 Electrical installations – Selection of cables and AS/NZS 3191 Electric flexible cords. They cover thermoplastic, PVC, elastomeric, and polyolefin cords (all types are cross-linked cables). They can be flat cable for 2 core only, or round for multicore (3+ cores); they can optionally also be screened to limit electromagnetic radiation, or textile braided for protection or aesthetic reasons. The screen is annealed copper laid up in a braid under the outer sheath, with an extra inner sheath to space it from the insulated cores;  its electrical resistance should not be more than that of the condustors. More information on applications can be found in AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules.

Light Duty, Ordinary Duty, Heavy Duty cable

The cables all have a duty rating which denotes its resistance to mechanical stresses. The three ratings are based on the voltage designation of the cable: light duty cable is 250/250V, ordinary duty cable is 250/440V, and heavy-duty cable is 0.6/1kV. Self-evidently, heavier-duty cable has a higher resistance to use and abrasion and greater insulating properties against voltage. Examples include table lamps on light duty, domestic or office appliances on ordinary duty cable, and power tools or outdoor equipment on heavy duty. Heavy duty cable is usually specified for permanent installations (as opposed to portable cables) unless inside a protective conduit; the common exception is pendant-type lamp fittings.

Australian cable sizes

The cross-sections of the conductors are the same as those used in most of the world, and recommended in IEC 60228. They are measured in millimetres squared, e.g. 0.5mm2, 0.75mm2, 1.00mm2, 1.5mm2, 2.5mm2, 4mm2, etc. Insulation colours for each core are also the same: the earth is green with a yellow stripe; neutral is light blue (originally blue); the active (line or live) is brown for single phase, then black, white, or grey, orange. The older colour code of green earth, red active and black neutral can still be used in building wire but is no longer permitted for portable mains flex.

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For example: ‘AUSTRALIA WIRE NSW V-75 4V-75 250/440V ORDINARY DUTY’. NSW is the approval issued by the government of New South Wales. The RCM is the Regulatory Compliance Mark (‘tick in a triangle’) which shows adherence to the relevant requirements from SAA and SNZ, Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand. The insulation is PVC and rated to 75°C. The voltage is expressed as U0/U, where Uo is voltage to earth and U is voltage between phases, both RMS (root mean square), so in this case 250V to earth and 440V between active and neutral. The duty rating will be light duty, ordinary duty, or heavy duty, as explained above.

From stock we can offer several 75°C PVC Australian cables in light duty and ordinary duty: 2 core in 0.75mm only; and 3 core in 0.75mm, 1.00mm and 1.50mm. Other specifications (e.g. 0.50mm, 2.5mm, 4.0mm) are available to special order from the Far East or Australia.

Australian cable insulation

Australian cable sheath