If you’re a small business selling goods, your legal obligations can drastically change depending on whether your products are made for or labelled for children. In this article, we cover what kinds of children’s product safety standards there are in Australia.
What are product safety standards?
For the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on mandatory standards related to products for babies and/or children. These are legal requirements for product safety, and can apply differently depending on what products you sell.
If you sell a children’s product that doesn’t meet its mandatory standard, the customer may seek a refund, repair or replacement per their consumer rights and guarantees. Read more about consumer guarantees in our article here.
If the unsafe product causes loss or damage, you may have to compensate the consumer for the loss. For more on compensation for defective products, voluntary standards, banned products and recalls, read our article on product safety responsibilities here.
What Kinds of Products may be Captured?
There is a long list of categories of children’s products that may be captured under particular mandatory standards. To have a closer look, you can also see the ACCC’s list of mandatory standards here, and their list of banned products here.
Categories of regulated Baby and Toddler Products
- Baby bathing aids
- Baby rockers and bouncers
- Baby walkers and exercise jumpers
- Child car seats
- Cots (folding and permanent – they have different standards!)
- Dummies and soothers
- Infant sleep products
- Prams and strollers
Categories of regulated Kids’ Toys
- Aquatic toys
- Toys that expand in water
- Inflatable toys and flotation aids (different from aquatic toys!)
- Projectile toys
- Toys containing lead and other elements
- Toys for children up to and including 36 months of age
- Rattle and toy teethers
- Stuffed and plush toys
- Building blocks and stacking toys
- Rocking horses
- Ride-on toys
- Games and puzzles, etc.
- Toys that are magnetic
What Standards Apply to Your Children’s Products?
Each mandatory standard has different requirements and may allow you to elect certain processes to comply with. For example, in the Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard 2023 (Cth), a children’s toy must comply with (1) the requirements of the Electric Toy Standard, and (2) the specified requirements of either the:
- Australian/New Zealand Standard; or
- European Standard; or
- International Standard; or
- US Standard.
Therefore, it’s essential that you know which mandatory standard your products fall under and what requirements they need to adhere to. They can even fall under more than one standard!
This can be tricky when it comes to, for example, custom craft products such as crochet plushies. Some crochet plushies may not be manufactured, designed, labelled or marketed as a plaything. However, it may be something that is commonly recognised as for children, and therefore may fall under the standard.
You might choose to send your products to a specialised lab for testing to ensure that they adhere to the relevant standard. They can test for hazards including choking and poisoning that could be difficult to assess by yourself.
If your children’s product doesn’t meet its safety standard, you could face heavy fines, have to compensate your customers for defective products, or have to recall your product.
What Next?
If you are thinking of selling products for children, there are mandatory standards that may apply. However, with children’s products having so many categories, it’s best to consult a lawyer to make sure your products abide by the relevant standards.
For help with your product safety responsibilities, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.
