The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today released a public report and business guidance on consumer product safety in the online environment. The Consumer product safety online report provides a range of guidance for businesses, and best practice tips for online sellers and marketplaces selling products over the internet to Australian consumers.
All businesses supplying products to Australian consumers are required to comply with Australian safety laws, mandatory standards and bans. The online environment creates some unique product safety challenges. The ACCC report identifies steps businesses can take to assist safe and confident purchasing decisions, prevent product-related deaths, injuries and illnesses and avoid costs associated with product recalls.
Key compliance tips for online businesses include:
- clearly displaying warnings and product labelling
- using good quality product images
- providing clear product descriptions, including recommended usage and age-grading for children’s products, and
- checking the requirements of Australian safety standards and bans prior to listing a product as available for sale.
Consumer product safety online is available to download free from the Product Safety Australia website www.productsafety.gov.au/consumersonline
Further information about product safety is available at www.productsafety.gov.au
