Court cases

Court cases are at the tip of the compliance pyramid, representing when product safety regulators need to take legal action to resolve situations where suppliers break product safety laws.

What does this mean for suppliers?

Under the Australia's product safety laws, legal action may result in courts:

• making declarations that a business or individual has broken the law
• making injunctions restraining current or future conduct or requiring suppliers to take certain action
• requiring suppliers to publish notices about their conduct and corrective advertising and to disclose relevant information to others—for example to their customers
• making findings of fact that show breaches of the law so that affected consumers and businesses can recover damages
• making orders, where possible, to achieve redress for consumers or businesses harmed by the conduct
• making various other orders, such as implementing compliance or education and training programs
• imposing fines on businesses and/or individuals
• convicting businesses and/or individuals found to have breached laws.

When is legal action used?

After considering all aspects of a breach, the ACCC and state and territory regulators may use legal action where:

• the breach is particularly serious
• there is reason to be concerned about a supplier’s future conduct
• the business or individual involved is unwilling to provide an acceptable resolution.

Examples of civil action

Skippy Australia Pty Ltd— non-compliant baby walkers and cots

On 18 October 2006, Skippy Australia Pty Ltd sold baby walkers that didn’t comply with the mandatory safety standard. These baby walkers didn't have the required braking system and warning labels.  

The company also misled consumers by claiming that a model of cots it was selling complied with the mandatory standard for household cots. But the cots didn't comply because they:

• had limb entrapment hazards
• had parts sticking out that could snag clothing and cause strangulation
• did not have required information and warning labels. 

Skippy also displayed a ‘no refund’ sign that misled consumers about their statutory rights.

The judge found the company guilty on all charges and ordered it to pay fines totalling $860 000 as well as the ACCC’s legal costs.

Aziz Properties and Services Pty Ltd trading as Infinity Megastore and Dr Rodney Aziz, sole office holder—bunk beds 

On 22 December 2008, the Federal Court in Melbourne found that Infinity Megastore was selling two models of bunk beds that did not comply with the mandatory safety standard, and that Dr Aziz was aware that his company was breaching regulations. The bunk beds posed serious risks to users from entrapment and fall hazards.

Among a range of orders, the judge ordered the company to recall the two non-compliant models. The judge also ordered the company and Dr Aziz to pay $35 000 for the ACCC’s legal costs.