The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has revealed that thousands of Australians could be at risk of injury or death by not returning recalled dangerous products to their sources.
ACCC Commissioner, Sarah Court said, with the exception of motor vehicles, around 1.7 million recalled products were still in consumers’ possession – threatening the safety of residents of almost one out of every four households across the nation.
She said people could be at risk of injuries or even death from 6.6 million individual products currently under voluntary recall.
“Each year the ACCC is notified of about 650 consumer product recalls, but only about half of affected products are returned,” Ms Court said.
“The ACCC is recommending that the Government strengthen the Australian Consumer Law by requiring businesses to comply with a ‘new safety duty’, which would mean businesses must take ‘reasonable steps’ to ensure the products they sell are not unsafe.”
She said that in Australia two people die and 145 people are injured every day by unsafe consumer products. This amounted to an annual cost of at least $5 billion to the economy, including medical costs, lost wages and lost productivity.
“Many people would be surprised to learn there is currently no law that requires businesses to not sell unsafe products,” Ms Court said.
“We believe prevention is better than cure, and that legally requiring businesses to take steps to ensure the safety of their products before they enter the market is needed to protect Australian consumers.”
The ACCC is part of a global campaign on product recalls, raising awareness of the importance of making sure recalled products are removed from homes.
