The following information is a general guide to the product safety and information laws administered by the NSW Office of Fair Trading.

In the Fair Trading Act 1987 ‘supply’ includes sale, exchange, lease, hire, hire-purchase and ‘give-aways’, for example – at trade fairs and through promotions.

In the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 'sell' includes auction or exchange, offer, agree or attempt to sell, advertise, expose, send, forward or deliver for sale, cause or permit to be sold or offered for sale, hire or cause to be hired and display for sale or hire.

Some safety laws require retailers and/or suppliers to have current and valid test reports available to show that products comply with relevant NSW safety laws. However responsible retailers and/or suppliers will ensure that valid test reports are available for all products they supply, before they are offered for sale.

There are product safety bans (prohibition orders) currently in place for certain products and if you are an importer, wholesaler, distributor or retailer of these products you are responsible to comply with these requirements.

For more details go to the Product safety bans webpage.

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Penalties of up to $22,000 for individuals and $110,000 for companies can be imposed by courts for breaches of safety laws under the Fair Trading Act.

For breaches of the Act a fine of $550 applies.

For breaches of the Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 fines of $825,000 or 2 years imprisonment may apply.

Products that do not comply with these laws will be subject to recall at the suppliers expense.

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For further information, contact:

Office of Fair Trading
Product Safety Unit
Tel: 02 9895 2049
Fax: 02 9895 0789
Email: product.safety@oft.commerce.nsw.gov.au

Office of Fair Trading
Energy and Utilities Unit
PO Box 972
Parramatta NSW 2124
Tel: 02 9895 0720
Fax: 02 9895 0735
Email: energyapprovals@oft.commerce.nsw.gov.au

Copies of the Fair Trading Regulation 2007, Fair Trading Act 1987, Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004, Gas Supply Act 1996 and Gas Supply (Gas Appliances) Regulation 2004 are available at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

To view or download the information on the product safety bans (orders) go to the Product safety bans webpage.

Information on Commonwealth Government safety laws is available from the Product Safety Section of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Tel: 1300 302 502
or by visiting the website www.accc.gov.au

Copies of Australian Standards can be purchased from Standards Australia:
Tel: 1300 654 646
or by visiting the website www.standards.org.au

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The information in the following sections is intended as a general guide only.
General products
Electrical products
Gas appliances
Children's products

It not intended to be advice on the law or any other matter and it is not intended as a substitute for a full consideration of statutes, regulations, standards and other instruments in force at any given time. Readers should not rely upon or act upon this information without considering the laws in force at the appropriate time and if necessary, should obtain the appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances. The NSW Government expressly disclaims all and any liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this summary.

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