Unsafe Products Are Killing Two Aussies A Day - And The ACCC Wants This To Change
Not good enough.
Unsafe products cause two deaths and 145 injuries every day in Australia – and it’s time this changed, says the consumer watchdog.
The ACCC is calling for an overhaul of Australia’s product safety laws – estimating the annual cost of injury and death caused by unsafe consumer products is at least $5 billion and could be much more.
Excluding motor vehicle accidents, there are around 780 deaths and around 52,000 injuries per year from consumer products that many Australians have in their homes.
“We’re pushing for a change in the law to make it illegal to sell unsafe goods. At the moment there is no law in Australia against selling unsafe goods.”
Currently the laws are reactive – meaning if someone gets injured it’s reported to the ACCC and the product is recalled.
“We want to have a proactive law, so it’s illegal to sell unsafe goods in the first place.”
Catch up on today's headlines and download the Hit app here: iOS | Android