Overview

The Trade Practices Act 1974 was enacted to ensure fair trading and competition in Australian markets and to protect consumers from misleading or deceptive conduct. Consumer Protection Notice No. 12 of 2007 was issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, to address a gap in the implementation of child restraint system safety standards for use in motor vehicles. The Notice was issued to revoke and replace Consumer Protection Notice No. 5 of 2007, which contained an unintentional endnote that created uncertainty in the validity of the instrument. The policy objective of the Notice is to ensure that child restraints supplied on the Australian market have key safety features that reduce the associated risks of injury to/death of a child while travelling in a motor vehicle. The Notice declares the 1995, 2000 and 2004 versions of the Australian Standard for motor vehicle child restraints AS 1754, as varied, to be consumer product safety standards for the purposes of section 65C of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Scope and Application

The Consumer Protection Notice No. 12 of 2007, issued under the Trade Practices Act 1974, pertains to consumer product safety standards for child restraint systems used in motor vehicles. This legislation applies to all corporations operating within trade or commerce in Australia who supply goods that are intended or likely to be used by consumers, specifically targeting child restraint systems. The Act mandates that these goods must comply with the specified Australian Standards (AS 1754 versions of 1995, 2000, and 2004, as varied) to ensure the safety of children during motor vehicle travel. These standards encompass minimum design, construction, performance, and labelling requirements. The geographic reach of this legislation is national, affecting all states and territories within Australia. There are no stated exclusions or exemptions within the Act itself, although the application can be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments. This Notice revokes the previous Consumer Protection Notice No. 5 to rectify an implementation issue caused by an unintended endnote, ensuring the clarity and enforceability of the safety standards.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of this legislation, Consumer Protection Notice No. 12 of 2007, declare that the 1995, 2000, and 2004 versions of the Australian Standard for motor vehicle child restraints AS 1754, as varied, are consumer product safety standards (subsection 65E(1) of the Trade Practices Act 1974). This declaration ensures that any child restraint systems supplied in Australia must comply with these standards to ensure child safety during motor vehicle travel. The declared standards encompass minimum design, construction, performance requirements, and also include specifications for informative labelling, instructions, marking, and packaging of child restraints (subsection 65C(1)(a) of the Act). Under the Trade Practices Act 1974, any corporation supplying child restraint systems must ensure that these goods comply with the declared safety standards. This obligation extends to all corporations involved in the trade or commerce of these goods, meaning they cannot supply non-compliant products. This requirement is intended to protect consumers, particularly children, by mandating that the supplied products meet the established safety benchmarks. Failure to comply with these safety standards can result in legal consequences. Under the Act, a corporation that supplies non-compliant child restraint systems may face civil or criminal penalties. The exact penalties are not specified in the Consumer Protection Notice, but generally, under the Trade Practices Act, corporations can face substantial fines for breaches of consumer protection laws. Civil penalties can be up to $1.1 million for corporations, while criminal penalties can include fines of up to $66,000 for individuals and $330,000 for corporations, reflecting the seriousness of failing to protect child safety in motor vehicles.