Link to Announcement
https://consultation.accc.gov.au/accc/infant-inclined-consultation-regulation-impact/
Problem being addressed
Longstanding public health advice is to place infants to sleep on their backs on a firm, flat surface. In 2019 the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (US-CPSC) reported 1,108 incidents and 73 fatalities from January 2005 to June 2019 in the United States associated with the use of Inclined Sleep Products. Following this, the US-CPSC commissioned a study by biometrics expert Erin Mannen PhD (the Mannen Report) that conducted testing and evaluated the design of Inclined Sleep Products. The Mannen Report concluded that placing an infant to sleep on an inclined surface may cause suffocation or asphyxiation and ultimately, infant fatalities.
The Mannen Report and expert advice commissioned by the ACCC also notes that other design features of Infant Sleep Products may pose a similar risk to incline such as curvature, rigidity and the material of a product. These design features warrant consideration in addition to incline and relate to the broader risks associated with Infant Sleep Products.
Proposal
On 11 August 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a consultation paper which considers policy options to reduce the risk of death and injury associated with Infant Sleep Products, including Inclined Sleep Products and Inclined Non-Sleep Products.
This Consultation Paper is seeking views on the likely effectiveness and cost of options to address the known risks associated with Infant Sleep Products, including Inclined Sleep Products and Inclined Non-Sleep Products, such as a holistic mandatory safety standard for all Infant Sleep Products. It also includes questions about whether the existing mandatory safety standards for folding cots and household cots should be updated.
This Consultation Paper follows the ACCC’s Issues Paper in July 2021 on Inclined Sleep Products and Inclined Non-Sleep Products. The scope has been expanded beyond incline based on the ACCC’s understanding that other design features may pose a risk to infants when sleeping in Infant Sleep Products.
Responses to the questions set out in the Consultation Paper will assist the ACCC in determining a preferred option including possible regulation, having regard to effectiveness and appropriate cost/benefit considerations. Submissions are due by 11 September 2022.
Assessed RIS outcome
Compliant Early Assessment RIS