What the ACCC does

  • Working with other regulators, we identify and address the risk of serious injury and death from safety hazards in consumer products.
  • We accept and record reports of information about unsafe products, and take enforcement action if required.
  • We consult and make recommendations to the Commonwealth Minister on mandatory standards and bans for product safety.
  • We negotiate, assess and check the effectiveness of voluntary product recalls.
  • We educate industry and consumers about consumer product safety responsibilities and risks.

What the ACCC can't do

On this page

Our core product safety functions

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is an independent Commonwealth statutory authority.  Our role is to administer and enforce the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and other legislation.

In product safety, our role is to address the risk of serious injury, serious illness and death from safety hazards in consumer products.

We assess and help manage consumer product safety risks

We use an intelligence-led approach to assess consumer product safety risks. 

We are informed by:

  • mandatory reports of serious illness, injury or death
  • recalls that have taken place internationally
  • information received from the community and other regulators.

We work with other Australian Consumer Law regulators and specialist product safety regulators to manage these risks. For more information about the regulators we work with, see the product safety system. 

We oversee mandatory standards, bans and consumer product recalls

We:

  • negotiate the recall of unsafe goods
  • make recommendations for regulatory action by the Minister, including to make standards and bans, or issue compulsory recalls or safety warning notices
  • introduce or work to implement changes to existing mandatory standards and bans
  • take compliance and enforcement action in accordance with the ACCC compliance and enforcement policy and priorities.

We also manage risk, advocate and educate

We have a role in advocating and informing others about product safety risks and rules.

We:

  • educate industry and consumers, including through safety warnings
  • advocate for law reform and to clarify roles and responsibilities within the product safety regulatory framework
  • work collaboratively with other Australian Consumer Law regulators and specialist product safety regulators to manage risk.

Product safety priorities

The product safety priorities are part of a broader plan of priorities the ACCC sets each year.

The ACCC product safety priorities identify:

  • our annual set of priorities for consumer product safety
  • the principles we apply for prioritising and addressing product safety risks.

For more information, see our product safety priorities and how we identify and prioritise product safety risks.

See also

About the ACCC

Compliance and enforcement policy and priorities