News & Insights

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released new mandatory standards that toy manufacturers will be required to comply with. These standards are found in the Consumer Goods (Toys for Children up to and including 36 Months of Age) Safety Standard 2023 (New Standards) and they have been implemented to increase safety measures for the design and manufacture of toys.

Who do the Standards apply to?

As is stated in the name of the New Standards, they are targeted at the manufacturer and design of toys for children that are up to and including 36 months of age. Such toys include but are 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 box;
• stuffed, plush and flocked animals and figures;
• dolls;
• toys with pompoms;
• games and puzzles; and
• toy cars, trucks and other vehicles.

We note, however, that some items such as balloons, marbles and certain materials like playdough have been excluded from this list.

What do you need to know?

Increased safety measures:

The New Standards have been introduced in an attempt to significantly reduce the chances of a child choking, suffocating or suffering another serious accident. As such, they focus on enhancing the safety of toys specifically by reducing the amount of small components able to detach during play or after reasonable wear and tear.

Specific standards for battery-operated toys:

As we know, all batteries, particularly button (or coin) batteries, can be extremely dangerous (and often fatal) if ingested. As such, the New Standards require toys containing such batteries to have a secure battery compartment that is only accessible with a specific tool.

Transitional period:

The ACCC is allowing a transition period until 4 March 2025 for suppliers to transition towards these new standards. During the transition period, businesses must still either remain compliant with the previous standards, found here, or the new Safety Standards.

Choice of standard to comply with:

As stipulated in the New Standards, manufacturers will have the choice to comply with specific international, European or American standards related to mechanical and physical properties of the toys.

How can Macpherson Kelley assist?

Compliance with the changes (once in effect from 4 March 2025) will be essential in order for businesses to continue safely and lawfully manufacturing toys for children up to and including 36 months of age.

While the transition period allows time for businesses to change their manufacturing and design processes, it is critical to start thinking about this now, to ensure the changes required for compliance have as little effect as possible on manufacturing.  It can also be the case that some changes might take a long lead time to implement, so do not delay.

Macpherson Kelley has extensive experience advising manufacturers of toys, in relation to Standards compliance, product packaging and labelling, and product safety recalls of non-compliant products. For further detail on the New Standards, or for advice and assistance on your business’ current and future compliance measures, please contact one of our experts.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.