Product safety consultation regulation impact statement
In June 2015, Australian Consumer Affairs Ministers, through the Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (CAF) requested Consumer Affairs Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) to begin a broad-reaching review of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). In April 2017, CAANZ released the Final Report of the ACL Review (the Review).
The Review identified some deficiencies in the current product safety system and put forward legislative proposals relating to product safety. These include the introduction of a General Safety Provision (GSP) to improve the product safety framework.
In August 2017, CAF ministers asked officials to carry out a regulatory impact assessment of a GSP. Ministers noted that more consultation was needed on design and implementation issues.
The Commonwealth Treasury undertook assessment and public consultation on behalf of the Commonwealth, states and territories. This Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) provided an overview of the current product safety system.
In addition to written submissions, Treasury sought views from consumers and businesses on their experiences relating to product safety and held consultations with businesses. These consultations were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra in October and November 2019.
Refer back to Treasury’s consultation page to check results of the consultation.
Consultation closed
The key timeframes for the consultation were:
- consultation opened 8 October 2019
- submissions closed 5pm, 30 November 2019.