Product safety and information standards

Australian law sets mandatory standards for product safety and information about certain products. The standards:

• give customers important information
• stop unsafe products being sold.

Safety standards

Mandatory safety standards specify minimum requirements that products must meet before they are supplied to the public. They are introduced when considered reasonably necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury.

All products must be safe for their intended purpose. Some high-risk products cannot be sold unless they meet certain standards. It is illegal to sell any product that doesn't meet a safety standard.

If a product is subject to a mandatory standard, it must meet specific safety criteria before it can be sold in Australia. These can relate to:

• performance
• composition
• contents
• methods of manufacture or processing
• design
• construction
• finish
• packaging or labelling.

The standards make sure products:

• are safe for their intended use
• help prevent injuries from unsafe goods.

Information standards

Consumers need clear and visible information to make an informed choice about what they buy. This information is usually via a label or warning.

Information standards do not necessarily relate to the safety aspects of a product. For example, information standards may cover ingredient labelling for cosmetics, labelling for tobacco products, or care labelling for clothing and textiles.

List of standards

Visit Product Safety Australia for a full list of current national mandatory safety and information standards.

You can purchase a copy of the standards from Standards Australia.