State and territory Acts

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) introduced a new nationally consistent system to regulate the safety of consumer goods and product related services.  Instead of each state and territory and the Commonwealth all having their own system for regulating product safety, there is now a single harmonised framework that is the same throughout Australia.  This reduces red tape for businesses and enhances safety for Australians. 

The ACL’s product safety provisions set out how the Australian and state/territory governments can regulate consumer goods and product related services to ensure they are safe.  These can include:

• imposing mandatory safety standards or information standards on goods or product related services;
• banning goods or product related services, either on an interim or permanent basis; or
• issuing a compulsory recall notice requiring suppliers to recall a good. 

The provisions are contained in Part XI and Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (formerly the Trade Practices Act 1974).  Relevant provisions are also mirrored in state and territory fair trading legislation. 

For further details on the ACL please see the 'Product safety changes in Australia' page on this site.  

For further details about the state and territory Acts listed below, visit the websites of each regulator:

• Australian Capital Territory—Fair Trading Act 1987; Fair Trading (Consumer Affairs) Act 1973
• New South Wales—Fair Trading Act 1987
• Northern Territory—Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1990
• Queensland—Fair Trading Act 1989
• South Australia—Fair Trading Act 1987; Trade Standards Act 1979 
• Tasmania—Fair Trading Act 1990
• Victoria—Fair Trading Act 1999
• Western Australia—Fair Trading Act 1987; Consumer Affairs Act 1971