Compliant Always
Get in touch

Selling consumer products in Australia

In Australia, product rules come from both Commonwealth and state law. FSANZ writes the Food Standards Code, which the states and territories enforce; the TGA regulates therapeutic goods; the Australian Consumer Law sets safety standards and bans for consumer goods; AICIS covers industrial chemicals; and electrical safety runs through state law and the EESS, with the RCM.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Food
Food Standards Code (FSANZ); enforced by states, territories and DAFF
Supplements
Food, or therapeutic goods under the TGA
Consumer goods
Australian Consumer Law: ACCC and state agencies
Industrial chemicals
AICIS, for cosmetics and cleaning product ingredients
Electrical goods
State law and the EESS; ACMA for EMC; the RCM for both
Imports
English trade description for many goods

By product

What each kind of product has to meet in Australia.

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Which product class is it, and which law and regulator cover it? Read more
  2. 2Does it need a registration, listing or certificate before supply? Read more
  3. 3What must the label show, and is there a trade description for imports? Read more
  4. 4Who reports injuries and runs recalls? Read more
  5. 5Which states and territories will it be sold in? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

How Australian product rules work

Who writes the rules, which law covers which product, and who enforces.

  • Food Standards Australia New Zealand develops the Food Standards Code; the states and territories adopt it without variation, and their agencies and local councils enforce it.
  • The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry enforces food standards at the border under the Imported Food Control Act 1992.
  • Goods represented for therapeutic use, including many supplements and sunscreens, are therapeutic goods under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, regulated by the TGA.
  • The Australian Consumer Law, Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, provides for safety standards, information standards, bans and recalls, enforced by the ACCC and state and territory agencies.
  • AICIS regulates the import and manufacture of industrial chemicals, including those in cosmetics and cleaning products; the Poisons Standard is applied through state and territory law.

How we help: Compliant Always works out which of these regimes apply to your product and keeps the documents behind each one ready. Ask about this

Registrations and post-market duties

What is done with a regulator before and after a product goes on sale.

  • Therapeutic goods are generally registered or listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods before supply.
  • Businesses importing or making industrial chemicals, including in finished cosmetics and cleaning products, register with AICIS each year.
  • In-scope electrical equipment is supplied by a Responsible Supplier registered on the EESS database, and Level 2 and 3 equipment is registered too. Suppliers using the RCM for EMC also register.
  • Products in classes covered by a GEMS determination are registered and meet its energy efficiency requirements.
  • A supplier of consumer goods notifies the Commonwealth Minister within 2 days of a death or serious injury or illness the goods may have caused, and within 2 days of a voluntary safety recall.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each registration, listing and certificate with the product it covers, and shows what is missing or expiring. Ask about this

Labels, measurement and trade descriptions

What labels carry across product classes.

  • Food labels follow the Food Standards Code, including allergen declarations, ingredient lists and country of origin labelling for most retail food.
  • Prepackaged products carry a metric measurement marking on the principal display panel under the National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009.
  • Food, toys, textiles and apparel, electrical appliances, china and kitchenware, and goods imported as prepacked articles need an English trade description stating the country where they were made or produced.
  • Claims such as 'Made in Australia' must be truthful; section 255 of the Australian Consumer Law sets when origin claims are safe.

How we help: Compliant Always reads your label artwork against the requirements for the product class, and shows what is missing. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandThe product sold under its name, its label and its claims.The rules that apply, with the paperwork behind each, in one place.
ManufacturerMaking the product to the standards that apply, and the evidence that it was.Specifications, test reports and certificates ready for each customer's form.
ImporterBorder requirements, trade descriptions, registrations and injury reports for imported products.Suppliers' documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
RetailerNot supplying non-compliant, banned or recalled goods.Supplier documents ready when a regulator or customer asks.

States and territories

Food standards are developed by FSANZ and adopted without variation by the states and territories, whose agencies and local councils enforce the Food Standards Code. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry enforces it at the border.

The Australian Consumer Law is enforced by the ACCC for widespread issues and by state and territory consumer protection agencies, which handle individual complaints.

Questions businesses ask

Who regulates consumer products in Australia?
Several bodies: FSANZ writes food standards enforced by states, territories and DAFF; the TGA regulates therapeutic goods; the ACCC and state agencies enforce the Australian Consumer Law; AICIS covers industrial chemicals; and state regulators and the ACMA cover electrical equipment.
Are Australian and New Zealand food standards the same?
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code is shared, developed by FSANZ. Some standards, such as Standard 3.2.2 on food safety practices, apply in Australia only.
Are supplements food or medicine in Australia?
Either, depending on ingredients, claims and form. A product represented for therapeutic use is a therapeutic good regulated by the TGA; one that stays a food follows the Food Standards Code.
Do cosmetics need approval in Australia?
No product approval, but ingredients are listed under the Cosmetics Information Standard 2020, and businesses importing or making the chemicals in them register with AICIS. Sunscreens made mainly for sun protection are therapeutic goods.
What is the RCM?
The Regulatory Compliance Mark, owned by the electrical regulators and the ACMA. It shows that equipment meets electrical safety requirements under the EESS and the ACMA's labelling requirements.
Do the rules differ between states?
In places. States and territories enforce food law, apply the Poisons Standard through their own law and make electrical safety law, and not all have signed up to the EESS. The Australian Consumer Law applies in each.
Do imported products need labelling in English?
Many do. Food, toys, textiles and apparel, electrical appliances, kitchenware and goods imported as prepacked articles need an English trade description stating the country where they were made or produced.
Do I have to report product injuries in Australia?
Yes. A supplier of consumer goods notifies the Commonwealth Minister within 2 days of becoming aware of a death or serious injury or illness that may have been caused by the goods.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Australia?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the Commonwealth, state and territory layers in Australia. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product and keeps the documents behind each one ready. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Australia and what your paperwork needs to show.

Get in touch

No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

Get in touch