AUSTRALIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Greg Williams, Alexandra Rose, Sheena McKie and Suhaasini Jeyasothy, Clayton Utz
Reform and Development of Compliance Standards
It is not uncommon for product recalls to also result from ACCC investigations and product bans. Enforcement Action The ACCC has a broad range of regulatory powers to investigate or pursue enforcement outcomes in respect of conduct which contravenes the Compe - tition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), including the ACL. The ACCC’s powers include the ability to issue infringement notices, accept court-enforceable under - takings and commence civil proceedings for alleged contraventions of the ACL. The ACCC is an active regulator and continues to exercise a broad range of enforcement powers to encourage or mandate compliance. Consistent with our comments about compliance priorities above, a substantial focus for ACL-related enforcement action has been and remains child safety. Infringement notices and court-enforceable undertakings The ACCC continues to use infringement notices and court-enforceable undertakings as well as obtaining other novel commitments from suppliers, outside of litigation. In May 2025, the ACCC issued eight infringement notices with penalties totalling AUD150,000 against fast-food franchise Hungry Jack’s Pty Ltd in relation to the supply of over 27,000 toys with its children’s meals that did not comply with the button battery informa - tion standard (ie, failing to provide required informa - tion and warnings about button batteries). In November 2025, The Wiggles, an Australian chil - dren’s entertainment group, provided a court-enforce - able undertaking, admitting that it likely breached the ACL by failing to comply with information standards when selling “Emma Wiggle” bow headbands with button batteries without required information and warnings. The Wiggles also committed to implement - ing a consumer law compliance programme within the organisation, as well as a unique commitment to producing an episode of its podcast, titled “Wiggle Talk - A Podcast for Parents” to discuss the recall of the headband and safety issues arising from button batteries.
In Australia, there is no general unsafe goods provi - sion. Australian product liability and safety laws are a mix of statute and common law and are enforced by regulatory action (including, but not limited to, regu - latory litigation) and by individuals bringing personal claims against manufacturers and suppliers of goods or through class actions. One key aspect of Australia’s consumer protection laws for product liability and product safety relies on the application and continued development of manda - tory safety and information standards, as well as bans. Mandatory standards introduced in recent years reflect the ACCC’s focus on unsafe goods to which children may be exposed. This includes mandatory button battery standards introduced in 2022, which continue to be a significant driver of regulatory action and litigation, as well as standards relating to infant sleep products (from January 2026) and toppling fur - niture (from May 2025). Additionally, in May 2026, the ACCC issued a ban on infant self-feeding devices. Infant self-feeding bot - tles are products that position a baby bottle to allow the infant to feed without requiring another person to hold the bottle and may not require supervision. They pose a serious risk of injury or death as a result of choking, aspiration or suffocation. The ban has been introduced following a period of consultation with healthcare specialists and paediatricians and extends to prohibiting the manufacture, possession or supply of self-feeding products. Another ban relates to small, separate or loose, high- powered magnets. Products containing such mag - nets include various toys, puzzles and chess sets. The ACCC has gone a step further and now issued takedown notices to a range of online marketplaces for products that contain those magnets, which are said by the ACCC to pose a risk of catastrophic, life- threatening internal injuries if swallowed, particularly for young children. Multiple magnets can stick togeth - er in the intestine or digestive tissue. They are also a choking risk.
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