Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standards) Regulations 1979

The Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standards) Regulations 1979 prescribe consumer product safety standards for a limited set of goods. In the compiled text dated 5 April 2017, the listed product areas are balloon-blowing kits, bean bags, bean bag covers, packages containing bean bag filling, and historical standards for elastic luggage straps.

This is important because the regulations are not a general code for all consumer products. If your goods are outside these categories, these particular regulations may not apply, although other product safety laws may still be relevant. If your goods are inside these categories, the rules are mandatory and detailed. They deal with the exact warning text, how warnings must be attached or displayed, and in some cases the physical design of the product.

The compilation also states that the instrument is made under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, while the operative provisions still refer to the Trade Practices Act 1974. Businesses should read the current compilation carefully and check whether any later instrument now applies to the product they supply.

In practice, these rules matter to any business in the supply chain for the covered goods. That includes manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and online sellers. If you package, relabel or prepare goods for supply, you should also check whether your conduct affects compliance with the warning and labelling requirements.

The regulations are framed around goods being supplied, and the practical compliance burden often falls on the business placing the product into the Australian market. For example, an importer of bean bags should not assume the product is compliant simply because it arrived with a label attached. The importer should check the wording, colour, size, placement and permanence of the warning, and should also confirm that every relevant opening has the required child-resistant slide-fastener.

Businesses dealing with older stock should be especially careful. The applicable standard for elastic luggage straps changed over time, and the date of supply may affect which historical rule applied. If you sell second-hand or old stock in trade, you should verify the product category, the date of supply and whether a newer safety standard has replaced the older regulation.

The main trigger is straightforward: if you supply a product that falls within one of the listed categories, you need to check the prescribed standard for that category. The regulations do not wait for an injury to occur before they matter. A product can be non-compliant because the warning is missing, the wording is wrong, the label is not durable enough, or a required safety feature is absent.

For balloon-blowing kits, the trigger is the product definition. The regulations define these kits as goods containing a substance capable of being used to make inflated balloons by blowing the whole or part of the substance from a tube, other than a container, contained in the goods. If your product fits that description, the substance must not contain benzene.

For bean bags and bean bag covers, the trigger is whether the product is a cushion or similar item consisting of a bag or cover surrounding bean bag filling, or a cover capable of being filled with bean bag filling. The definition expressly includes bean bags for use in swimming pools. For packages containing bean bag filling, the trigger is broader still, because the regulation applies to packages of every description containing that filling.

For elastic luggage straps, the trigger is historical and date-sensitive. The regulations set out one standard that applied until the end of 31 May 2001 and another that applied from 1 June 2001 to the end of 30 November 2004. The amendment history also shows a later provision was repealed when the Consumer Goods (Elastic luggage straps) Safety Standard 2017 commenced, so businesses should check the current position before relying on the older regulations.

Regulation 5 sets general rules for warnings where a prescribed standard requires a warning on goods or on goods and their packaging. Unless a product-specific rule says otherwise, the warning must be marked in indelible permanent ink or paint in a contrasting colour, stitched into the material with contrasting thread, or marked or stitched onto a durable label affixed in a reasonably permanent manner. The warning must be in a conspicuous position and must not be combined with other words or material that would contradict or obscure its meaning.

For balloon-blowing kits, the obligation is about composition rather than labelling. The substance used to make inflated balloons must not contain benzene. Businesses importing or manufacturing these kits should have a reliable way to verify the chemical content of the substance in the kit.

For bean bags, bean bag covers and packages containing bean bag filling, the warning text is prescribed exactly. Each must have fixed securely to it, or stamped on it, a label or notice stating: “WARNING: Small Lightweight Beads Present a Severe Danger to Children if Swallowed or Inhaled.” The word WARNING must be in upper case red letters of at least 5 millimetres in height on a white background. The remaining words must appear in upper and lower case as shown in the regulation, with upper case letters of at least 5 millimetres in height, and the warning must be conspicuously displayed.

Bean bags and bean bag covers also have a design requirement. Every opening through which bean bag filling can be inserted or removed must have a child-resistant slide-fastener. The regulation defines this carefully. The sliding piece must not have any tag, handle or other object attached that would help move it, and it must include a locking mechanism that cannot be disengaged without a wholly separate device that also acts as a handle.

For elastic luggage straps, the warning requirements changed over time. Until 31 May 2001, one permitted standard required a permanently affixed label with the warning: “WARNING. Avoid eye injury. Do not overstretch. Strap may rebound.” That label had to present WARNING in upper case red letters of at least 5 millimetres on a white background, with the remaining words in upper or lower case letters of at least 2.5 millimetres, and be conspicuously displayed. From 1 June 2001 to 30 November 2004, the warning changed to a longer form and the label had to use black text on a yellow background with specified minimum letter heights for different words.

These regulations are highly specific, so businesses should keep records that show how compliance was checked. Useful records may include product specifications, artwork approvals for labels, packaging proofs, supplier declarations, testing or chemical information for balloon-blowing kits, and inspection records for bean bag fasteners.

If you source goods from overseas, ask for product specifications early and compare them against the Australian requirements before the goods are shipped. If you relabel goods in Australia, make sure the final product still meets the rules about permanence, conspicuous placement and the prohibition on surrounding material that obscures or contradicts the warning.

For older stock, keep records showing when the goods were acquired and supplied. That can be important where the applicable standard changed over time, as it did for elastic luggage straps. Businesses should also check whether a newer instrument now governs the product, rather than assuming the older regulation remains the operative rule.

The regulations include a prescribed form of warrant for the purposes of section 65Q of the Act. The form contemplates a judge issuing a warrant where there are reasonable grounds, based on affidavit material and any further information required, to authorise an authorised officer to enter premises.

The warrant form refers to powers to inspect goods of a particular kind that are intended to be used, or are likely to be used, by a consumer and that will or may cause injury to a person. It also refers to taking samples, inspecting documents and making copies or extracts, and inspecting equipment used in manufacturing, processing or storage. The warrant may authorise entry at any time of the day or night, or during specified hours, and it must cease to have effect no later than 7 days after issue.

For businesses, the practical point is to keep goods, records and compliance documents organised so they can be produced if required. Staff responsible for warehousing, quality control and customer complaints should know where compliance records are kept and who handles regulatory enquiries.

The legislation history records that the original regulations commenced on 11 July 1979. The compilation provided is Compilation No. 6, showing the law as amended and in force on 5 April 2017. The endnotes also record that the Consumer Goods (Elastic luggage straps) Safety Standard 2017 commenced on 5 April 2017 and that a later elastic luggage strap provision in these regulations was repealed by that instrument.

That means businesses should be careful not to treat this page as a complete statement of the current law for every product mentioned. The historical elastic luggage strap rules remain useful for understanding past obligations, but anyone supplying those goods now should check the current safety standard. The regulations also refer to Australian Standards published on specified dates, so where a product requirement depends on a dated standard, businesses should confirm the exact version incorporated by the regulation.

If you are assessing old stock, second-hand goods supplied in trade, or a past supply event, the date matters. Work out when the goods were supplied and then check which version of the law applied at that time.

Before relying on these regulations for a live compliance decision, confirm four things. First, make sure your product actually falls within one of the defined categories. Secondly, check whether the product is governed by this instrument or by a newer safety standard. Thirdly, if the product is older stock, identify the relevant date of supply because the applicable rule may have changed over time. Fourthly, compare the actual product and packaging against the exact wording and presentation requirements in the legislation.

These checks are especially important for importers, online sellers and businesses handling mixed stock from different suppliers. A product can look broadly compliant while still failing on a technical point such as letter height, colour contrast, permanence of the label or the design of the fastener.