Product safety & standards

If you're a supplier or manufacturer, you are obligated to only market safe products. Make sure your products meet relevant safety standards, provide clear instructions for proper use and include warnings against possible misuse. If you don't meed the mandatory standards, you risk breaching the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) and action being taken against you.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) enforces mandatory product safety and information standards, and bans on unsafe goods declared under the CCA. Fair trading offices also have an important role in product safety rules in each state and territory.

Product safety

If you supply or manufacture products you need to make sure only safe products are marketed, by:

• providing clear instructions for use, including warnings against possible misuse
• being aware of and meeting industry and mandatory standards
• developing product recall plans and procedures including effective communication strategies to the public (eg advertising)
• incorporating safety into product design
• developing appropriate safety standards through product improvement
• implementing a quality assurance program which includes consumer feedback
• responding quickly to safety concerns that arise.

Mandatory product standards

A standard can be made mandatory by either trade practices regulation or Commonwealth Gazette notice. A gazette notice refers to a published Australian Standard and could detail variations to that standard. If you're a supplier, check both the gazette notice and the Australian Standard it refers to.

There are two types of mandatory product standards:

• Safety standards - goods must comply with particular performance, composition, contents, methods of manufacture or processing, design, construction, finish or packaging rules.
• Information standards - prescribed information must be given to consumers when they purchase specified goods (e.g. labelling for cosmetics, tobacco products and care labelling for clothing and textile products).