Product safety: 10 questions before you sell

Ten questions before supply.

• 1. What is the exact product, model, variant, intended user and reasonably foreseeable use?
• 2. Who manufactured, imported, distributed and will sell it in each market?
• 3. Is it covered by a mandatory safety standard, information standard, ban or specialist regime?
• 4. What other hazards remain even if no product-specific mandatory standard applies?
• 5. Does the test evidence cover the supplied model, materials, components and current production?
• 6. Is the laboratory appropriately competent and accredited for the relevant test scope?
• 7. Are labels, warnings, instructions, packaging and online information complete and consistent?
• 8. Can the business trace batches, suppliers, customers and product changes?
• 9. Have complaints, incidents, recalls and safety signals for this or similar products been checked?
• 10. Who can approve supply, impose conditions, hold stock or escalate a safety concern?

A supplier declaration is a starting point, not the whole file.

Check the exact requirement, test method, model identification, sample, date, result and laboratory scope. A report for a related model, pre-production sample or different component may not support the product being supplied.

Responsibility extends across the supply chain.

Manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and other suppliers may all have obligations. Online businesses and products shipped to Australian consumers are not outside Australian mandatory standards and bans merely because the seller or factory is overseas.

Keep the approval current after launch.

• Control material, component, factory, design and packaging changes.
• Monitor complaints, returns, injuries and near misses.
• Keep records needed for the two-day mandatory incident-reporting rule where it applies.
• Reassess when standards, bans, recalls or regulator guidance change.
• Maintain a practical hold, investigation, notification and recall pathway.

Questions to ask

Focus on the decision and the evidence.

1. 01

   Do we know the exact product, model, supplier and market?

2. 02

   Have applicable requirements and credible evidence been identified?

3. 03

   Are labels, traceability, incidents and change controls ready?

Official sources

Check the primary material.

• ACCC Product Safety - Understand product safety rules ↗
• ACCC Product Safety - How to source and test products ↗
• ACCC Product Safety - Mandatory standards ↗

Practical support

Apply the guidance to your facts.

Identify the exact product, claim, customer journey, supplier, legal entity or business process involved. Preserve the information that supports the current position, record unresolved facts, assign an owner and confirm the point at which specialist review is required.

Important information

Check the current position.

This resource is general information, not legal advice. Laws, regulator guidance and proposals can change. Do not rely on a title or summary alone to decide whether a requirement applies to a particular entity, product or activity.