Australia Updates Mandatory Toy Standard for Children up to and Including 36 Months of Age
In Australia, the mandatory standard “Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard 2023” was last updated on 5 September 2023, to replace the current “Consumer Protection Notice No. 14 of 2003 — Consumer Product Safety Standard: Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age”.
Scope
The mandatory standard includes “Toys for children up to and including 36 months of age” (but is not limited to):
- Rattles, toy dummies, teethers, and squeeze toys
- Toys for attaching to cots, playpens, prams and strollers
- Push and pull toys
- Pounding toys
- Blocks and stacking toys
- Bath toys
- Rocking, spring and stick horses and figures
- Musical chime toys
- Jack-in-the boxes
- Stuffed, plush and flocked animals and figures
- Dolls
- Toys with pompoms
- Games and puzzles
- Toy cars, trucks and other vehicles
Exclusions
The mandatory standard excludes:
- Balloons
- Marbles
- Tapes and CDs
- Books
- Writing materials
- Paints and paint brushes
- Modelling materials, including play dough, clay and plasticine
- Bicycles having a wheelbase of not less than 640 mm
- Playground equipment for parks, schools and home use
- Goods supplied wholly or partially unassembled that need an adult to assemble them after they're bought, if when assembled according to their supplied written instructions, the goods follow the specified standards
- Flotation toys
- Baby dummies
- Toys made wholly from highly porous material (such as cheesecloth) – except for toys with pompoms
- Toys made from certain plastics that are labelled according to the mandatory standard
Note: Toy suppliers must note that even if toys are labelled and/or marketed for older children, the mandatory standard may apply if the toys are commonly recognised as being intended or suitable for children under 36 months of age.
Substantial Changes
The previous mandatory standard (Consumer Protection Notice No. 14 of 2003) was based on an old revision of the voluntary Australian/New Zealand standard, AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2002.
The new mandatory standard allows compliance with one of the following:
- AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2023 “Safety of toys – Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties.”
- ISO 8124‑1:2022 “Safety of toys – Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties.”
- EN 71‑1:2014 + A1:2018: “Safety of toys – Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties.”
- ASTM F963‑17 “Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety.”
- (GPSR) from 13 December 2024.
Effective Date
4 May 2025 is the end of the transition period in which Suppliers will have a choice to comply with either:
- The Consumer Protection Notice No. 14 of 2003, as amended by Consumer Protection No. 1 of 2005, or;
- The Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard 2023
From 5 May 2025 suppliers must only comply with this new Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard 2023.
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