ACCC issues product safety guides

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued two new product safety guides:

"The State of Product Safety—Jurisdiction Comparisons" provides a comparative outline of the product safety framework across 11 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union (EU), South Korea, and the United States (US). The Guide includes information on legislative structures, rules and regulations, management of unsafe goods, notification systems and future regulatory arrangements.

The Guide was issued as part of the ICPHSO International Product Safety Conference, held on the Gold Coast of Australia in October 2013. The conference brought together representatives from across the globe to discuss product safety issues facing stakeholders, including manufacturers, retailers, regulators, and industry associations.

"Product Safety: A guide to testing" is designed to assist designers, manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and hire companies understand, organise and use product safety testing and test reports for consumer products.

In particular, the Guide addresses testing to voluntary standards which, per ACCC, "are important as they can help you, as a supplier, to assess products against specific criteria and to ensure product safety," and are regularly incorporated into quality assurance programs.

Both Guides can be found on Product Safety Australia website.

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