Glove Certification
A standard sets out what a glove has to do. Certification is independent proof that it does, and that the gloves in the box keep matching the glove that was tested. Elliotts has independently certified its welding gloves since 2011. This page explains why that matters, how it works, and how to check any glove before you buy it.
Why certification matters
Certified, tested or self-declared?
No law in Australia requires work gloves to be independently certified. A supplier can print performance levels on a glove based on its own declaration or a lab test report. From the shelf, those gloves can look almost identical to a certified one. What sits behind the marks is very different:
A test report is a snapshot. Certification is ongoing. If a factory changes its leather, thread or liner, a one-off test report won't show it. Surveillance audits are designed to pick that up.
What it means for you
- A rating you can defend. A current edition, checked by an independent body, gives you a number you can put in a risk assessment and stand behind.
- Consistency over time. Surveillance audits check that production still matches the glove that was tested.
- Traceability. The licence number links the glove to a public record of what's certified and to which standards.
- Your WHS duty. Employers must provide PPE that suits the work. If a glove fails on site, "the supplier said it complied" isn't much of a defence. Independent certification is evidence you can stand behind.
How certification works
Here's what happens before an Elliotts glove carries a certification mark.
Tested to the limit, not just to the pass mark
A lab can stop testing once a glove reaches the minimum level it needs. When we recertified our welding gloves, we asked the lab to keep testing each glove until it reached its actual limit. That's why some Elliotts gloves now show higher ratings than their older paperwork did. The earlier ratings were pass marks, not limits. The gloves didn't change. The testing went further.
How Elliotts certifies its gloves
We use two independent certification bodies. Each one tests, audits and licenses the gloves it certifies, and keeps checking them.
Every Elliotts welding glove also meets the optional EN 12477 requirement for arc welding, tested to EN 1149-2 and every new Elliotts welding glove launches certified to the same standards. Intertek SAI Global audits our manufacturing, and certified welding gloves carry the Certified Product mark with a licence number you can look up on Intertek SAI Global's register.
Every product page and product data sheet (PDS) lists the standards, the performance levels and the certification body for that glove.
How to check a glove's certification
1. Find the mark. Look for a certification body's mark on the glove, packaging or PDS, with a licence or certificate number next to it.
2. Look it up. Search the number on the certification body's online register or certificate directory. Intertek SAI Global and BSI both publish one.
3. Check what it covers. Make sure the standards and the product on the register match the glove in your hand.
4. Check it's current. Licences and certificates can lapse. The register shows whether it's active.
No mark and no licence number means the marks rest on a declaration or a test report, not certification. That may suit your risk. Just know which one you're buying.
Why we point you to the licence, not a certificate
People sometimes ask us for a copy of a certificate. We point them to the licence number instead. A certificate is a document from a particular date. The licence on the certification body's online register is the live record: it shows what's certified, to which standards, and whether it's current today. It's a better check, and anyone can do it without asking us.
Our certification history
We were the first to certify welding gloves to Australian standards, and we've kept them independently certified ever since. In 2026 we moved our welding gloves to the Intertek SAI Global certification to EN 12477, with ratings to the current EN 407.
Why we moved to EN 12477 and EN 407:2020
AS/NZS 2161.4:1999 is based on EN 407:1994, a version of the European standard that is now more than 30 years old. It hasn't been revised since 1999. The 2020 edition introduced updated test methods, a more rigorous approach to how each rating is set, and clearer markings on the glove itself.
We chose to certify our welding gloves to EN 12477, with ratings to the current EN 407, so the rating on the glove reflects the most current assessment available. For what changed in the standard, see Welding and Heat Glove Standards.
Old and new marks on the shelf
For a while you'll see both on the shelf. Gloves made before the change carry the earlier certification, which was valid at the time they were made. New production carries the Intertek SAI Global Certified Product mark, EN 12477 with its Type, and ratings to EN 407:2020 and EN 388:2016.
First to certify. Certified to today's standards.
Questions about certification?
Talk to your Elliotts rep, call 07 3265 2944, or look up any Elliotts licence number on the certification body's online register.