Flammable Clothing Act 1973 (TAS)

Flammable Clothing Act 1973

An Act to require the marking or labelling in a prescribed manner of certain articles of clothing

[Royal Assent 22 January 1974]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Flammable Clothing Act 1973 . 2Interpretation [Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 69 of 1987, s. 3 ][Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 53 of 1988, s. 27 and Sched. 4 ] (1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – Australian Standard means a standard issued by the Standards Association of Australia; [Section 2 Subsection (1) amended by No. 17 of 1996, Applied:24 Jan 2002] authorized officer means the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading and a person declared to be or appointed as an authorized officer under Part III of the Consumer Affairs Act 1988 ; prescribed article of clothing means an article of clothing that is prescribed to be an article of clothing to which this Act applies. (2)  References in this Act to the selling of an article shall be deemed to include references to offering or exposing that article for sale, and to the having possession of that article for any purpose of advertisement or trade. 3Prohibition on selling certain articles of clothing [Section 3 Subsection (1) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ] (1) No person shall sell a prescribed article of clothing unless it is marked or labelled in accordance with the regulations made under this Act.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 5 penalty units.

(2) In proceedings for an offence under this section in relation to a prescribed article of clothing, it shall be a defence for the defendant to show that at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed he had a belief, based on reasonable grounds, that that article of clothing was marked or labelled in accordance with the regulations under this Act, or was not a prescribed article of clothing. 4Evidence of Australian StandardsIn any proceedings for an offence under this Act production of a document purporting to be a copy of an Australian Standard is, unless the contrary is shown, sufficient evidence that the contents of that document, so far as they purport to be that Australian Standard, are that standard. 5Powers of inspectors [Section 5 Subsection (1) amended by No. 69 of 1987, s. 4 ][Section 5 Subsection (3) amended by No. 67 of 1994, s. 3 and Sched. 1 ][Section 5 Subsection (4) amended by No. 69 of 1987, s. 4 ] (1)  An authorized officer may – (a) [Section 5 Subsection (1) amended by No. 17 of 1996, Applied:24 Jan 2002] enter any premises where any prescribed articles of clothing are manufactured or sold or where he has reasonable grounds for believing any such articles are manufactured or sold; and (b) [Section 5 Subsection (1) amended by No. 17 of 1996, Applied:24 Jan 2002] inspect any documents or things he finds on any such premises that, in his opinion, relate to the manufacture or sale of prescribed articles of clothing; and (c) require any person whom he finds on any such premises to give him such information as he may require with regard to any prescribed article of clothing thereon (whether manufactured or partly manufactured) or any material or article thereon that appears to him to be intended for use for the manufacture of prescribed articles of clothing on those premises; and (d) seize and detain any prescribed article of clothing, or any document or thing that he believes, on reasonable grounds, would afford evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act. (2)  A person is not obliged under subsection (1) to give any information that may tend to incriminate him. (3)  A person who, without reasonable excuse (proof whereof lies on him) – (a) refuses or fails to give any information required of him under subsection (1) ; or (b) in response to such a requirement gives any information that is false in a material respect – is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding 2 penalty units. (4)  Where any article, document, or thing is seized under this section the authorized officer may cause it to be retained until the termination of the proceedings for the offence in relation to which it was so seized, except that if those proceedings are not commenced within 28 days of the seizure the authorized officer or the person having the custody or charge of the article, document, or thing shall cause it to be returned to the premises on which it was seized. (5)  A court in which the proceedings referred to in subsection (4) are taken may direct the article, document, or thing to be dealt with or disposed of in such manner as it thinks fit. 6Regulations (1)  The power of the Governor to make regulations under this Act with respect to any article of clothing may be exercised for such purposes as he may consider appropriate having regard to the degree of flammability of the article, or the effect of heat on the article; and references in this subsection to an article of clothing shall be construed as including references to any part thereof, and to the material of the article or any part thereof. (2)  The Governor may make regulations – (a) prescribing articles of clothing of any specified kind, type, class, or description to be articles of clothing to which this Act applies; and (b) prescribing the manner and form in which any prescribed article of clothing is to be marked or labelled. (3)  Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (2) regulations made for the purposes of paragraph (b) thereof may – (a) [Section 6 Subsection (3) amended by No. 17 of 1996, Applied:24 Jan 2002] prescribe the manner in which any marking or label is to be displayed on, or affixed or attached to, any article of clothing; and (b) prescribe the contents of any such marking or label, whether those contents relate to matters of information, instruction, or warning, or any other matter; and (c) prescribe any matters affecting the form of the label or any of its contents. (4)  Regulations under this Act may make different provision with respect to different articles of clothing. (5) Regulations under this Act may incorporate by reference, whether with or without modification or alteration, any of the provisions of an Australian Standard.