Review of mandatory safety standard for swimming and flotation aids

Overview

The ACCC invites you to have your say on the issues and policy options in the consultation paper for the review of the mandatory safety standard for swimming and flotation aids. The issues in this paper have been briefly summarised below, please refer to the document for further details.

The ACCC prefers submissions to be provided via the ACCC consultation hub.

Alternatively, interested parties can email submissions to: productsafety.regulation@accc.gov.au

Submissions can also be made via post to:

Director
Standards & Policy
Consumer Product Safety Branch
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
GPO Box 3131
CANBERRA ACT 2601

Submissions will be published on the ACCC website at the end of the consultation period.

Please note any information that you believe to be of a confidential nature should be clearly marked or identified as confidential. The ACCC will not disclose the confidential information to third parties, other than advisors or consultants engaged directly by the ACCC, without first providing you with notice of its intention to do so, such as where it is compelled to do so by law.

Why your views matter

The ACCC is reviewing the  mandatory safety standard for swimming and flotation aids because:

• we believe that the messages in the consumer warning label should be improved to more clearly warn of the hazards associated with using a swimming or flotation aid.
• we are considering international standards as acceptable ways for suppliers to demonstrate compliance in a global marketplace.

Policy options

The ACCC is considering the following policy options for dealing with the current mandatory safety standard:

Option 1 - Keep the current mandatory safety standard (status quo)

Option 2 - Adopt the updated voluntary Australian standard

Option 3 - Allow compliance with the updated voluntary Australian standard or the European standard

Option 4 - Revoke the mandatory safety standard

We seek information and comment from stakeholders to assist in this review. Your are encouraged to review the paper and make a submission.