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- Australian Space Agency
- Boosting innovation and science
- Co-hosting the Square Kilometre Array
- Increasing international collaboration
- Industry growth centres
- Industry Innovation and Science Australia
- National Measurement Institute
- Optical astronomy in Australia
- Participating in the digital economy
- Promoting innovation precincts
- Science in our department
- Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Energy
Resources
Northern Australia
Trade
Business support
Measurement services
Government to government services
- Regulations and standards
Emissions reduction
Energy
Resources
- Applying to export rough diamonds
- Applying to export uranium and controlled ores
- Offshore mineral exploration and mining
- Offshore oil and gas exploration and development
- Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release process
- Regulating offshore oil and gas in Australian Commonwealth waters
- Regulating the Ranger Uranium Mine
- Taxes and royalties on minerals and petroleum
Measurement
Trade
Space industry
Building industry
Business support
- Funding and incentives
Emissions reduction
Industry innovation and science
- Australian Square Kilometre Array Fellowships Programme
- Business Research and Innovation Initiative
- Business-research collaboration
- Collaborating with Asia-Pacific on science, research and innovation
- Collaborating with China on science and research
- Collaborating with India on science and research
- Cooperative research centres
- Enabling international space investment
- Industry 4.0
- Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia
- International research collaboration
- Moon to Mars: opportunities for Australian businesses
- Prime Minister's Prizes for Science
- Research and Development Tax Incentive
- Supporting advanced manufacturing
- Supporting business and innovation
- Supporting space infrastructure growth
- Transitioning Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry
- Venture capital
Resources
- About us
COVID-19
Jobs
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- Our Ministers
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- Organisation chart
- Our portfolio agencies
- Overseas engagement
- Anti-Dumping Commission
- Anti-Dumping Review Panel
- Australian Radioactive Waste Agency
- Australian SKA Office
- Australian Space Agency
- Critical Minerals Facilitation Office
- National Measurement Institute
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- Office of Northern Australia
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- Pattern approval
- Issuing certificates of approval
On this page
Issuing certificates of approval

Once the National Measurement Institute (NMI) has approved your instrument prototype, we issue a certificate of approval.
We will consult with you to finalise the technical information presented in the certificate.
Interim certificate
We may issue an interim certificate on request or as required while we finalise the certificate.
Final certificate
You may need to provide us with extra technical information or drawings to describe the instrument. We draft and send you the final certificate to review and agree to.
Once we have your response, we issue a final certificate.
We review certificates of approval every five years to ensure compliance with current legislative and technical requirements.
Changes to certificates
You must notify us if you make any changes to the design of the instrument after we issue the certificate of approval. We may need to add a variant or make other amendments to the certificate.
You must also notify us if your company or contact details change.
Special clauses
Some certificates of approval may include special clauses. Under these clauses, you may need to provide extra information like copies of test results or instrument locations.
Instruments approved for legal use
Some measuring instruments have been approved for legal use only. These instruments can’t be used for trade as they may have been assessed against different criteria and have different controls around their use.
Manufacturing, importing and supplying measuring instruments
When you import or build instruments under this certificate, you must:
- construct the instrument as described in the certificate of approval and the technical schedule
- mark each instrument with its pattern approval number and information stated on the certificate of approval
You may also get the instrument:
- verified by a servicing licensee or a utility meter verifier before it can be used for trade
- get the instrument certified by a certifying authority before it can be uses for legal purposes
To find a servicing licensee to verify your measuring instrument, email tmlicensees@measurement.gov.au.
Auxiliary devices
If your certificate of approval allows you to connect an auxiliary or peripheral device—such as a printer or fuel dispenser nozzle—it may refer to a general supplementary certificate of approval.
If you supply auxiliary devices to third parties along with your instrument, you must ensure that it complies with the relevant general certificates.
You do not need to submit auxiliary devices for pattern approval.
If you have any questions, email patternapproval@measurement.gov.au or phone 1300 686 664.
Internationally recognised certificates
We can issue International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) certificates of conformity along with a test report.
You can use these to get your instrument approved for trade use in other countries. These documents provide evidence that we have evaluated your instrument and it complies with the requirements of an OIML recommendation for patterns of instruments in use for trade.
We issue OIML certificates for:
- continuous totalising automatic weighing instruments
- non-automatic weighing instruments
Read more
Contact us
- Email patternapproval@measurement.gov.au
- Phone 1300 686 664
See also
Find out about selling goods by weights and measures.

- National Measurement Institute
Last updated: 8 December 2020
Content ID: 54012