explanatory Statement

Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer

Trade Practices Act 1974

Consumer Protection Notice No 4 of 2005

Amendment to Consumer Product Safety Standard:  Sunglasses and Fashion Spectacles

Paragraph 65E of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act) provides that the Minister responsible for Consumer Affairs may, by notice in writing published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette declare that, in respect of goods of a kind specified in the notice, a particular standard, or a particular part of a standard, prepared or approved by Standards Australia International Limited, or such a standard or part of a standard with additions or variations specified in the notice, is  a consumer product safety standard for the purposes of section 65C of the Act.

Paragraph 65C(1)(a) of the Act provides that a corporation shall not, in trade or commerce, supply goods that are intended to be used, or are of a kind likely to be used, by a consumer, if the goods are of a kind in respect of which there is a consumer product safety standard and they do not comply with that standard.

Subsection 65C(2) of the Act provides that a regulation may, in respect of goods of a particular kind, prescribe a consumer product safety standard consisting of such requirements as are reasonably necessary to prevent or reduce risk of injury to any person.  These requirements may relate to: performance, composition, contents, methods of manufacture or processing, design, construction, finish or packaging of the goods; testing of the goods during, or after the completion of, manufacture or processing; and the form and content of markings, warnings or instructions to accompany the goods. 

The mandatory safety standard for sunglasses and fashion spectacles was gazetted on 17 September 2003.  The standard established requirements in such important aspects of eye health as transmission limits for visible, infra-red and ultraviolet radiation, the relative transmission of different visible wavelengths, the dimensions and strengths of lenses and frames and colouration standards for the lenses.  Appropriate labelling of sunglasses is also required, including, among other things, warnings that sunglasses may be unsuitable for use by people with defective colour vision, particularly when driving, and the optical quality of the lens.

The purpose of the amendment is to exempt glasses or goggles for special use, including medical shields especially designed for use by vision impaired persons.  Advice has been received that these type of glasses fail to meet the current standard.  The main area in which they fail is in respect of strong colouration of lenses which is necessary to address particular problems experienced by the intended user (ie vision impaired persons).  In this sense they are somewhat akin to prescription sunglasses which are exempt from the standard.  On the available evidence exempting glasses for special use from the standard would not expose the user to safety risks.

Consultations have been held with members of the Consumer Products Advisory Committee (CPAC) which consists of Commonwealth, State, Territory, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea product safety officers, and members of the Standards Australia Technical Committee, which consists of representatives of government, industry and consumers.  All agreed with the proposal.

The amendment will be subject to the Legislative Instruments Act 2004.  That Act provides that all legislative instruments will cease to have effect after ten years.  Consequently it is unnecessary to include a sunset clause.