Australia Drafted "Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard"

2022-04-01

In the Notification (G/TBT/N/AUS/137 dated 2022-02-25) to the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) disclosed their current review of a mandatory standard draft titled as Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard. In Australia, the current mandatory safety standard for children's toys was introduced in 2003, and it is time for a renewal by referencing the latest edition of the voluntary Australian standard to ensure the clear and consistent suppliers' regulatory obligations whilst maintaining consumer protections.

Scope and Reference:

Products Covered

1. Toys for children up to and including 36 months of age are products which are designed, manufactured, labelled and marketed as playthings or are clearly intended for use in play by a child up to and including 36 months of age

2. Toys, games and sports requisites

3. Parts and accessories thereof

Reference Standard

Australian/ New Zealand Standard: AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2019 – Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties, including some minor amendments made in 2020

In addition, the ACCC proposes to allow suppliers to comply with any of the following three widely-adopted overseas voluntary standards, while this new Australian safety standard would not impose any requirements other than those contained therein.

Standard	Reference	Title
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