Claims about country of origin
A business must not make false or misleading claims about where goods came from. Goods must meet these standards to accurately claim a country of origin.
Claims
A claim or representation about country of origin includes:
- words
- a picture
- both words and a picture.
The claim will indicate where the goods were made, produced or grown.
The claim may be:
- attached to the goods (e.g. on a label)
- in promotional material linked to the goods.
Words or pictures that are an essential part of the goods are not automatically a claim about country of origin. For example, a t-shirt with a ‘Made in Australia’ label makes a representation about country of origin. A t-shirt emblazoned with the word ‘Australia’ as part of its design, does not.
‘Made in’ statements
A 'made in' statement on goods says that:
- work in that country substantially changed what the goods look like or do
- the business spent at least half of the producing or manufacturing costs in that country.
The ‘Made in Australia’ stamp is an example of a ‘made in’ statement.
‘Product of’ statements
A ‘product of’ statement (sometimes ‘produce of’ or ‘produced in’) says that:
- virtually all production or manufacturing happened in that country
- all of the significant parts or ingredients came from (and always come from) that country.
Using a logo
A business can only put a prescribed logo on goods if work in that country:
- significantly changed what the goods do (or what they look like)
- accounts for a certain percentage of their costs (at least 51% for ‘Made in Australia’).
‘Grown in’ statements
A statement that goods are grown in a certain country claims that:
- at least half of the finished product (compared to its total mass) grew or was processed in that country
- virtually all of the production or manufacturing happened in that country
- all of the significant ingredients or components came from (and always come from) that country.
Certification trademarks
The country of origin of a good can be represented by use of a certification trademark.
The ‘Australian Made, Australian Grown’ logo, and other certification trademarks, can only be used with permission of the owner.