Our role in product safety

Under the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 1989, the Office of Fair Trading  promotes the safe use of consumer products and ensures certain goods and services supplied in Queensland meet mandatory safety standards.

We want to reduce the number of product-related injuries to Queenslanders.

Ensuring the safety of goods and services is a significant activity that often requires specialised skills and experience, so the responsibilities are shared between different regulators. The arrangements between regulators vary from state to state.

Our role in product safety is to:

• make sure consumer products are as safe as is reasonably possible
• tell consumers about using products safely
• tell businesses about selling safe products.

We do this by:

• checking and enforcing compulsory safety and information standards for consumer products
• recommending unsafe products are banned or recalled
• telling industry about selling safe products
• giving safety information to consumers
• looking into any public complaints about unsafe goods.

If you have a concern about the safety of products in these other areas, you should contact the specialist regulator for advice:

• Training and workplace matters
• Transport and vehicle matters
• Health and medical matters
• Public health and amenity matters
• Industry and construction matters

Contact us

If you’re not sure who the required safety regulator is, you can contact us and we will direct you appropriately:

Read more about what we don't investigate.

Training and workplace matters

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland can help you with workplace health and safety issues, as well as issues related to:

• amusement rides
• industrial equipment
• construction equipment.

Department of Employment, Small Business and Training monitors training providers and takes complaints on:

• training and assessment products
• training outcomes
• services provided by training organisations.

Transport and vehicle matters

Department of Transport and Main Roads deals with matters relating to:

• motor vehicles
• trailers
• transporting dangerous goods.

Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development deals with:

• product recalls on motor vehicles
• importing vehicles
• vehicle design rules.

National Heavy Vehicles Register is concerned with safety matters for heavy vehicles (over 4.5t).

Airline Consumer Advocate is an independent service that hears complaints about air travel services from the major domestic airlines.

Health and medical matters

Queensland Health can assist with matters about:

• food
• medicines
• drinking water
• pesticides
• poisons
• chemicals.

Therapeutic Goods Administration regulates and gives information on:

• medicines
• medical devices
• therapeutic goods.

Poisons Information Centre can give you general information and advice on poisons.

Veterinary Surgeons Board is an information service to consumers and veterinarians on the conduct of veterinary science within Queensland.

Safe Food Queensland regulates the primary production and processing of meat, eggs, dairy and seafood in Queensland. It also ensures Queensland's food production systems meet national food safety standards.

Office of the Health Ombudsman hears complaints about public or private healthcare, including alternative treatment providers.

Public health and amenity matters

You can contact your local council for matters about:

• public health
• public safety
• amenity for short-term rental accommodation, including
  • motels
  • hotels
  • bed and breakfasts
  • backpacker hostels
• food safety and hygiene practices at food businesses.

Industry and construction matters

Electrical Safety Office enforces standards to ensure the safety of electrical products.

Queensland Building and Construction Commission regulates and provides information and advice about:

• building and building products
• pool safety, fences and safety barriers.

Department of Resources provides information on explosives, fireworks, gas and petroleum products.

Things we don't investigate

We do not generally have responsibility for goods and services that are not for personal, domestic or household use, or that are regulated by specialist regulators, such as:

• electrical products
• building products
• motor vehicles
• food
• medicine.