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ACCC: safety risks posed by infant inclined products

Announcement date

18 July 2024

Link to announcement 

The Consumer Goods (Infant Sleep Products) Safety Standard 2024

The Consumer Goods (Infant Products) Information Standard 2024

Problem being addressed
Australia's product safety regime does not have a general safety provision that prohibits unsafe goods being supplied or any mandatory standards which specifically capture all Infant Sleep Products. There is currently no single Australian or international standard that can be adopted to address all risks identified for Infant Sleep Products. 
Fatalities associated with Infant Sleep Products and Inclined Sleep Products and Inclined Non-Sleep Products will continue to occur if no government action is taken. The ACCC considers the risk to infants posed by unsafe Infant Sleep Products is significant and likely to become more prominent in the future. 
 
Proposal
Make a mandatory safety standard, mandatory information standard for Infant Sleep Products and Inclined Non-Sleep Products and revoke the household and folding cots mandatory standards, plus an education campaign. 
The ACCC considers this will best improve safety and address the risks associated with Infant Sleep Products and Inclined Non-Sleep Products.

Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Good practice

Assessment comments
The analysis in the IA is good quality overall. The IA addresses the seven IA questions and follows an appropriate policy development process commensurate with the significance of the problem and magnitude of the proposed intervention.

Regulatory burden
The ACCC estimates the Consumer Goods (Infant Products) Information Standard 2024 will result in an increase in average regulatory costs of between $0.63 and $1.35 million over the next 10 years.

The ACCC estimates the Consumer Goods (Infant Sleep Products) Safety Standard 2024 will result in an increase in average regulatory costs of between $2.77 and $161.83 million per year for the first two years, and between $1.20 and $4.33 million from year three onwards.

OIA assessment of the Impact Analysis
Insufficient
Adequate
Good practice
Exemplary
Attachment File type Size
Impact Analysis pdf 1.19 MB
Impact Analysis docx 659.49 KB
Certification Letter pdf 134.52 KB
OIA Assessment Letter pdf 132.95 KB
OIA Assessment Letter docx 133.72 KB