Australia: Review of the mandatory standard for toys for children up to and including 36 months

 

Australia is proposing a review of the mandatory standard for toys for children up to and including 36 months

The mandatory 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 some further minor amendments made in 2020.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (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 which is the following: Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2019 – 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: 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) or American Standard (ASTM F963 – 17 Standard consumer safety specification for toy safety).

The new safety standard would not impose any requirements other than those contained in these voluntary standards. Allowing compliance with these voluntary standards would reduce the current regulatory complexity and duplication for suppliers, thereby reducing technical barriers to trade.  The draft instrument gives effect to the proposed changes.

The new regulatory instrument is called Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard 2022.

The full text of the instrument is available HERE.