New research from CHOICE has revealed most people are unaware of how easy it is for dangerous products to end up on store shelves this festive season.
74% of consumers mistakenly believe businesses are legally required to ensure products are safe before selling them in Australia.
"9 in 10 respondents thought it was important that businesses have a legal obligation to make sure their products are safe before selling them. Unfortunately, the reality is that Australia's product safety regime is reactive, reliant on voluntary recalls, and it can take serious injury or death for an unsafe product to be removed from sale," says CHOICE Director of Campaigns, Rosie Thomas.
"CHOICE continues to call on the government to introduce a general safety law, which would make it illegal for businesses to sell unsafe products in the first place. This would help protect consumers from products that may cause injury, but aren't covered by any mandatory safety standards or product bans," says Thomas.
"Until a safety provision is introduced, there's no guarantee that every single product available for sale is safe. We've put together some product safety tips to keep in mind this season while doing your Christmas shopping," says Thomas.
Product safety tips for the holiday season:
1. Avoid buying children's toys, baby safety items and electronics from cheap overseas websites. These goods often fail Australian safety standards.
2. If you're buying something with button batteries, make sure they're properly secured, as these small batteries can be deadly if swallowed.
3. Check if the product might be a banned product, such as combustible candle holders.
4. Keep an eye on product recalls by following Product Safety Australia on social media or signing up to its email newsletters.
5. Beware of using AI for product suggestions. Popular chatbots have recommended goods we've found to be unsatisfactory or unsafe.
Sign the petition for safer products: www.choice.com.au/productsafety
Editor's notes:
CHOICE Consumer Pulse September 2024 is based on an online survey designed and analysed by CHOICE. 1,024 Australian households responded to the survey with quotas applied to ensure coverage across all age groups, genders and locations in each state and territory across metropolitan and regional areas. The data was weighted to ensure it is representative of the Australian population based on the 2021 ABS Census data. Fieldwork was conducted from the 5th to the 18th of September, 2024.
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