CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

Australia: Review of safety standard for Toys up to and including 3 years old

MARCH 2022 - TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

On 25 February 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) notified World Trade Organization (WTO) their draft instrument¹ on a mandatory safety standard for toys. The final date for comments is on 29 April 2022. 

The ACCC is proposing to make a new mandatory safety standard for toys for children up to and including 36 months to allow suppliers to comply with the most recent edition of the voluntary Australian standard with modifications which is the following: 

• Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2019 Safety of toys – Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties) 

In addition, the ACCC proposes to allow suppliers to comply with any of the following three widely adopted overseas voluntary standards with or without modifications: 

• International Standard (ISO 8124-1:2018 Safety of toys – Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties) 
• European Standard (EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018 Safety of toys – Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties)
• American Standard (ASTM F963 – 17 Standard consumer safety specification for toy safety) 

An electric toy must comply with clause 13.4.1 of the Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS 62115:2018 Electric toys – Safety) with modification by omitting all of the words after “Batteries that fit wholly within the small parts cylinder as specified in 5.2 of ISO 8124-1:2014 shall not be removable without the aid of a tool”. Both this standard and the Consumer Goods (Products Containing Button/Coin Batteries) Safety Standard 2020² apply in relation to a children’s toy.  

During the transition period, suppliers can choose to follow either the current safety standard adopted in 2003³ or toy standards mentioned above to show conformity. The current safety standard for toys for children up to and including 36 months references certain requirements in the 2002 edition of the voluntary Australian standard. The voluntary Australian standard was updated in 2019, with further minor amendments made in 2020.

[1]  G/TBT/N/AUS/137

[2]  Consumer Goods (Products Containing Button/Coin Batteries) Safety Standard 2020

[3]  Consumer Protection Notice No. 14 of 2003