Children's products and toy safety
All children’s products sold in Australia must comply with mandatory safety standards. All suppliers must ensure the goods they import, distribute and sell adhere to these standards.
While there are protections in place to protect you and your family from faulty and harmful goods, it is still important for parents and carers to consider safety when choosing products for children and babies to wear, use and play with.
The Product Safety Australia website details the safety requirements for children’s products sold in Australia. It includes a list of current recalls.
Toy safety
Toy safety checklist
The 'Five S’s of toy safety' is a good place to start to select safer, age-appropriate toys:
- Size – the smaller the child, the bigger the toy should be (anything smaller than a 20 cent piece or ping pong ball is too small for a child under 3).
- Shape – be wary of products that, because of their shape, may be easily swallowed or have sharp edges or points.
- Surface – make sure all finishes are non-toxic (this should be stated on packaging).
- Strings – anything over 30 cm is a strangulation hazard for a small child and should be removed.
- Supervision – nothing replaces close supervision.
If you have purchased an unsafe toy, you can return it to the store for a refund or dispose of the toy immediately.
Mandatory safety standards
Mandatory safety standards apply to children’s products and make it compulsory for:
- particular safety information, or
- information features.
Mandatory safety standards are compulsory for the legal supply of products in Australia.
It is an offence to supply goods that do not comply with mandatory standards.
Some of the mandatory safety standards that apply to children’s products include:
- aquatic toys
- baby bath aids
- baby dummies
- baby walkers.
Visit the product safety website to see the full list of children’s products where mandatory safety standards apply.
Permanent bans
Some baby and children’s products are subject to permanent bans and are not permitted to be sold in Australia. Here are some bans to be aware of.
DEHP is a chemical used to make plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) soft and flexible. DEHP is also known as diethylhexyl phthalate or di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.
While the use of DEHP is acceptable in other applications, it is considered unsafe when used in products:
- intended for use by children up to and including 3 years of age
- that contain or have an accessible component containing more than 1 per cent by weight of DEHP
- that children up to and including 3 years of age can readily chew and/or suck.
The ban only applies to toys, childcare articles, and eating vessels and utensils that meet each of the above criteria.
Learn more about the DEHP ban in children’s plastic items on the Product Safety Australia website.
It is illegal to sell fire footbags and similar goods in Australia.
The ban applies to balls manufactured from fire resistant material, designed to be doused in flammable liquid and ignited, kicked and thrown for amusement.
The ban does not apply to goods supplied for use by professional entertainers or for theatrical use.
Learn more about the ban on the Product Safety Australia website.
There is a permanent ban on mini jelly cups containing konjac in small cups sized 45 mm or less in height or width as they are a choking hazard.
Bans can be placed on products or product-related services if there’s a risk of serious injury, illness or death.
If a product is banned, it must not be supplied in Australia.
Significant penalties apply to suppliers who fail to comply with product bans.
Learn more about the ban on the Product Safety Australia website.
Novelty cigarettes or ‘puff cigarettes’ are banned in Australia.
Novelty or toy cigarettes that look like real cigarettes and contain hydrated magnesium silicate (the primary ingredient in talcum powder) are included in the ban.
Learn more about the ban on the Product Safety Australia website.
There is a permanent ban on separate or loose small high-powered magnets with a flux index greater than 50 (kG)2 mm2 that are used in certain toys or jewellery.
If children swallow multiple magnets, they can stick together in the intestine or digestive tissue leading to serious:
- internal injuries, or
- death.
They are also a choking risk.
Learn more about the ban on the Product Safety Australia website
There is a ban on the sale of inflatable toys, novelties and furniture containing loose beads, small particles or pellets, due to the risk of choking or suffocation for young children.
Products captured by the ban include:
- children’s chairs
- plastic lounges
- balls
- inflatable toy hammers.
Learn more about the ban on the Product Safety Australia website.
It’s illegal to sell yo-yo water balls or similar liquid-filled novelties in Australia.
The ban includes balls or novelty shapes filled with soft synthetic gelatinous liquid, moulded to a soft stretchable cord with a small loop to put a finger through.
These products are banned because the cord may pose a strangulation hazard.
Learn more about the ban on the Product Safety Australia website.
Be a savvy consumer
Here are some common sense rules to follow when buying toys:
- check for sharp edges or rough surfaces as they can cause cuts and splinters
- buy washable, non-breakable toys for babies
- toy chests and boxes should be designed not to close on top of children, or better still with a removable lid. Anything big enough to crawl inside must have ventilation holes
- read the age labelling on new toys. 'Not suitable for children under 3' means that there are small parts which could be swallowed – it is not an indication of skill level or intelligence
- check that there are no gaps or holes which could entrap a child's fingers
- only buy projectile toys that shoot objects or launch projectiles when they comply with the projectile toys mandatory standard
- be wary of toys that make loud noises as they can be harmful to hearing, particularly toys which are held against the ear, such as walkie talkies and toy mobile phones
- ensure that ride-on toys are appropriate to the age of the child and are stable. Toy bikes should have effective brakes which can be applied by the rider
- make a note of all the toys you have at home that contain magnets and check them regularly to make sure the magnets have not come loose
- don’t leave toys with magnets in the reach of very small children.
While toys in today's marketplace are generally much safer than a decade ago, each year NSW Fair Trading detects new products which have the potential to cause injury or even death to young children.
Download the Choke Check Tool from the Product Safety Australia website to help you identify toys and other products with small parts that a young child could choke on.
If you become aware of an unsafe situation or item (including incorrect or absent safety labelling), whether or not anyone has been injured:
- alert the supplier about the issue
- report the matter to Product Safety Australia.
Making a complaint
When making a complaint, you should include:
- details of the issues you are experiencing
- copies of any correspondence that shows how you have tried to resolve the matter.
How NSW Fair Trading will handle your complaint
Your complaint will be reviewed to determine the most appropriate resolution. This may include:
- providing you with information to help resolve your complaint
- recording the complaint issues to assist in future compliance programs, or
- contacting the other party to try and resolve the dispute.
You can lodge a complaint:
Online
If you cannot resolve your matter, submit your complaint by using our form.
By mail
Post your complaint form and documentation to:
NSW Fair Trading
PO Box 972
Parramatta NSW 2124
Ask a question
If you are unable to find the information you need, you can call us between 8:30am to 5pm on Monday to Friday. You can also use our form to make an enquiry.