Limited review of the toys containing magnets mandatory safety standard

Overview

The ACCC invites you to have your say on the proposed updates to the mandatory standard for toys containing magnets (Consumer Goods (Toys Containing Magnets) Safety Standard 2020) (the mandatory standard). The mandatory standard first came into effect in 2010 and was last updated in 2020.

The mandatory standard applies to new children's toys with magnets or magnetic components designed (or clearly intended) for play by children up to 14 years old. It mandates requirements for design, construction, testing and information labelling.

It does not apply to:

• sporting goods, camping goods, bicycles, home and playground equipment, trampolines, electronic game units, models powered by combustion or steam engines, and fashion jewellery for children
• magnets used in motors, relays, speakers, electrical components and similar devices where the magnetic properties are not part of the play pattern of a toy.

About this review

We are conducting a limited review of the mandatory standard. The purpose of this limited review is to:

• consider updating the mandatory standard to reference the latest versions of the voluntary Australian, international, European, and US standards, while maintaining the existing modifications
• determine if adding dynamic references is appropriate – so updates to the referenced voluntary standard flow through to the mandatory standard.

We do not believe any additional overseas or international standards exist that offer a comparable level of safety and are suitable to reference as compliance options in the mandatory standard.

Significant changes such as altering the scope of the mandatory standard or other major requirements (such as performance measures) are not being considered in this review. These may be considered in a future comprehensive review.

This limited review is focused on updates to the mandatory standard and will not consider changes to the permanent ban on small high-powered magnets.

We welcome your feedback on the options listed in this consultation.

You can read more about the reforms to the mandatory standard framework and limited reviews on the ACCC Product Safety website.

How to make a submission

Submit your views using the online survey linked at the bottom of this page.

Submissions are due by Friday 31 July 2026.

If you are unable to make your submission through the ACCC Consultation Hub, you can post or email your submission to:

Director
Standards Reform Team
Consumer Product Safety Division
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
GPO Box 3131 Canberra ACT 2601

Email: ProductSafety.Regulation@accc.gov.au

If you are emailing or posting your submission, please include your name, organisation (if any) and contact details when making a submission.

We prefer submissions to be in electronic format (such as MS Word or PDF) that is text searchable and allows a ‘copy and paste’ function.

This survey should take about 20 minutes to complete. You can save your answers and return at any time to complete your submission. You do not need to complete all questions to make a valid submission.

Publication of submissions

All submissions will be treated as public documents and published on the ACCC Consultation Hub in accordance with the ACCC’s Information Policy, unless otherwise requested.

Any parties wishing to submit commercial-in-confidence material should clearly mark it as such and submit both a public version and commercial-in-confidence version of their submission, with reasons explaining why it is confidential. More information about the ACCC’s treatment of confidential information can be found in the ACCC’s Information Policy.

Next steps after consultation

We will review submissions and determine our recommendation to the Minister about updating the mandatory standard.

We may consult with stakeholders again before the mandatory standard is finalised and will publish the outcome of this limited review on the ACCC Product Safety website.

Accessibility

If you have any difficulty accessing any of the information on this page, please refer to our website’s accessibility information. Alternatively, contact us by email at ProductSafety.Regulation@accc.gov.au or phone 1300 302 502 Monday to Friday between 11 am and 3pm AEST.