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Australia: ACCC reviews the mandatory standard for projectile toys

MAY 2021 -TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently launched a consultation1 on the review of the mandatory safety standard for projectile toys. Public comments open until 26 May 2021.

To align consistencies in the legislation and reduce additional regulatory burden, the ACCC is proposing to amend the mandatory standard to incorporate recent amendments made to the voluntary Australian and International standards, which are supported under the mandatory standard.

The amended mandatory standard is proposed to reference the following updated voluntary standards:

• AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2019 + A1:2020 + A2:2020 Safety of toys Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties (the updated voluntary Australian standard).
• ISO 8124-1:2018 + A1:2020 + A2:2020 Safety of toys—Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties (the updated voluntary International standard).

While there have been no amendments to other overseas voluntary standards EN 71‑1:2014 + A1:2018 and ASTM F963-17, reference to these will remain unchanged in the upcoming mandatory standard.

The current mandatory standard for projectile toys was reviewed and updated in June 20202, allowing suppliers to choose to comply with either the latest Australian voluntary standard or listed overseas standards, which will be enforced from 12 June this year.

[1]  ACCC Consultation

[2]  Australia: ACCC updates mandatory standard for projectile toys and aquatic toys, June 2020