Christmas crackdown on dangerous toys

A national crackdown on dangerous toys will make this Christmas safer for Australian children.

Federal and State authorities  removed some 500 lines of dangerous toys from the nation’s shops, in their joint operation.

Shoppers, though, should still be careful to avoid other dangerous children’s gifts, which might have escaped.

The authorities targeted 3,000 suppliers.

They studied toys ranging from small stocking fillers to bicycles.

The joint operation was conducted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commision and fair trading regulators in each State and Territory

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer David Bradbury said most of the dangerous had been found in “$2 discount variety stores.”

They had included basketball rings and aquatic toys without appropriate labelling, face paints with dangerous levels of lead and toys with small parts that posed choking hazards to young children.

“This was the first pre-Christmas surveillance operation under the Australian Consumer Law, which came into effect from 1 January this year,” Mr Bradbury said.

“For the first time we have nationally consistent product safety laws so that all products can be assessed against the same set of rules, regardless of which State or Territory they are sold in,” he added.

He said suppliers who sell dangerous toys could face fines of up to $1.1 million.

However Mr Bradbury said parents still have responsibilities, too.

“Parents should take steps to make sure that the toys their children are playing with are safe,” he said.

“Remember to always read the warning labels, check for small parts,” Mr Bradbury said.