Improving the Effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety System: Australian Law Reform in Asia-Pacific Context
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Improving the Effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety System: Australian Law Reform in Asia-Pacific Context L. Nottage 1 Received: 16 February 2020 / Accepted: 10 May 2020/ # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
The Australian government is undertaking public consultations over possible improvements to the 2010 Australian Consumer Law (ACL) regime, including again the idea of adding a European-style general safety provision (GSP). To bolster the case for such reform, Part 2 of this paper analyses 2017–2019 data trends from the OECD Global Recalls Portal for Australia compared with several comparable economies, especially in the Asia-Pacific region where Australia now has most of its trade and investment links. The analysis finds a persistently high per capita recall rate for Australia, compared with several jurisdictions including Korea, Japan, and especially the USA. However, the analysis identifies various legal and other factors across the jurisdictions that impact on interpreting such data. Part 3 therefore begins by highlighting some more specific patterns uncovered from an ongoing joint research project comparing child product safety trends particularly in Australia and the USA. It highlights various concerns regarding recalls in Australia, as well as weaknesses in Australia’s ACL regime (in addition to the lack of a GSP), in coordinating with sector-specific regulation, and in private law mechanisms that could more indirectly promote consumer product safety. Some estimated economic costs from current levels of reported injuries, as well as of many recalls, further reinforce the case for adding a GSP. Part 4 concludes that this improvement to the ACL could be combined with some of the other reform options outlined by the Australian government’s Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement, as well as the introduction of a novel “product safety substantiation order” power. The conclusions and analysis should be helpful for other jurisdictions considering product safety law reforms in an increasingly globalized and digital economy, and draw already on comparisons with regulatory regimes and issues particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Keywords Consumer law . Product safety regulation . Product liability . Children’s products . Safety comparative law . Asian law
* L. Nottage [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
L. Nottage
On 8 October 2019, the Australian federal government, through the Treasury, released for public consultation a Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) on “Improving the Effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety System.” It sought submissions on 30 November on how the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) might be amended to improve consumer product safety regulation nationwide. The Consultation RIS set out six options ranging from doing nothing and better education through to introducing a European-style general safety provision (GSP) requiring suppliers to put only safe products onto
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