Product Safety Standards for Selling on Amazon Australia: Standards, Bans, Reporting and Recalls

If you sell on Amazon.com.au, the same product safety rules apply to you as to any Australian shop: you must meet every mandatory safety and information standard for your product, never supply a banned or recalled product, and tell the regulator within 2 days if you learn that your goods may have caused a death, serious injury or illness. The rules apply to overseas businesses selling online too. This guide is general information, not legal advice; confirm with the ACCC or a compliance consultant.

Which product safety rules apply to my Amazon listings?

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies to all businesses selling goods or services in Australia, including overseas businesses. Amazon is only the shop window. If you are the supplier, the duty is yours. Read our Australian Consumer Law guide for Amazon returns for refunds and guarantees; this page covers safety.

Four things matter for a product seller:

1. Mandatory standards. These are either safety standards (performance, composition, design or packaging) or information standards, such as ingredient or warning labels.
2. Bans. A banned product cannot be supplied at all.
3. Mandatory reporting. You must report certain serious incidents.
4. Recalls. You cannot sell a recalled product, and you may have to run a recall yourself.

Goods must also be of acceptable quality, which includes being safe. A product can be legal to sell and still fail that test if it injures people.

What are the mandatory standards and which ones catch Amazon sellers?

The ACCC and Product Safety Australia publish the full list of mandatory standards, and the list changes. Check the current list on those sites before you source a new product. It is not reproduced here because a stale list is worse than none.

Categories that regularly catch online sellers:

The 2023 toy standard defines a children's toy as an object manufactured, designed, labelled or marketed as a plaything for a child up to and including 36 months. The end of the transition is about 5 March 2025, which is our calculation from that text, not a date printed on the page. Foam toys of closed-cell polyethylene or EVA must carry a prescribed red warning about choking.

What must I do if someone is hurt by my product?

A supplier of consumer goods who becomes aware of a death, serious injury or illness that may have been caused by the goods must give the Commonwealth Minister written notice within 2 days. The maximum penalty for failing to report is A$16,500 for a body corporate and A$3,300 for an individual.

The duty does not apply where it is clear or very unlikely that the goods caused the incident, or where another law or code already requires notification. Business.gov.au summarises it as reporting to the ACCC within 2 days.

In practice:

• A buyer's message, review or a-to-z claim that mentions a burn, a swallowed part or an injury is how you "become aware". Set up a rule that one person reads those messages.
• Write down the date and time you first saw it. The 2 days run from awareness.
• If you are unsure whether it counts, ask the ACCC or a compliance consultant straight away rather than waiting.

What happens if I sell something that breaks a standard or ban?

Breaches of safety standards or bans (ACL ss 106 and 118) carry a maximum penalty for a body corporate of the greatest of A$100,000,000, three times the benefit gained, or 30% of adjusted turnover in the breach period; for an individual the cap is A$2,500,000. Older material quotes A$50,000,000, so treat any lower figure on an agency blog as out of date. Those are ceilings, not typical outcomes.

You may also face recall duties, refund claims under the consumer guarantees, and loss of your Amazon selling privileges.

How do recalls and bans interact with Amazon?

Sellers cannot sell banned or recalled products. Amazon Australia also lists recalled products, meaning those "recalled by the manufacturer, any regulatory, or other government agency", as prohibited for third-party sellers.

Before every restock:

1. Search the government recalls site for the product type, brand and factory name.
2. If you import, check the supplier has not sold the same design under a recall elsewhere.
3. If a recall exists, remove the listing, stop FBA inbound shipments and quarantine stock; our Amazon Australia removal and disposal fees guide covers getting units out of FBA.

What will Amazon ask me to prove?

Amazon states that restricted categories can need performance checks, extra fees or qualifications, and that approval is requested in Seller Central. For health products, listings must comply with Amazon's product restrictions and Australian laws and regulations.

Amazon's Australian marketplace policy pages for Electronics and for Hazardous and dangerous products exist inside Seller Central. Amazon publishes the documents it requires, and its turnaround time, only inside Seller Central, so check there for the exact list. Sellers in other marketplaces report requests for test reports, certificates and label photos, but do not assume Australia matches.

A practical file to keep for each ASIN:

• Supplier name, factory address and your purchase order.
• Test reports from an accredited laboratory against the relevant standard, where one applies.
• Photos of the product, packaging, labels and warnings as they will be sold.
• Instructions and warnings in English.
• For electricals, your RCM and registration details.
• Records of complaints and your response.

Blooprint does not do product testing, certification or legal work. Testing comes from an accredited laboratory, and advice on whether a standard applies comes from the ACCC or a lawyer.

FAQ

Do mandatory standards apply if I only sell on Amazon and never in a shop? Yes. The rules apply to goods supplied in Australia whatever the sales channel, including overseas businesses selling online. Amazon is a channel, not an exemption.

Does Amazon check compliance for me? No. Amazon may ask for documents or remove a listing, but the legal duty stays with you as supplier. Amazon's own policy pages say restricted categories may need qualifications and that approval is requested in Seller Central.

Who counts as the supplier if I import and Amazon fulfils the order? You, as the business bringing the goods in and listing them. FBA changes who packs and ships, not who must meet the standard. See importer of record on Amazon Australia for the customs side.

How fast must I report an injury? Within 2 days of becoming aware that a death, serious injury or illness may have been caused by the goods. When in doubt, take advice immediately.

Can I sell second-hand goods that were banned or recalled? No. Banned and recalled products cannot be sold, and Amazon prohibits recalled products for third-party sellers. Used items also have to go through Amazon Renewed.

Is a manufacturer's overseas certificate enough? Not by itself. A foreign test report helps only if it tests against the requirements that apply in Australia. Ask the ACCC or a compliance consultant to confirm what your product needs.

Next steps for your Amazon Australia account

Start with the Australia hub, then list your products against the standards above, and write down the evidence for each. If you want help watching Seller Central notices and keeping listings live while you sort compliance, see Amazon account management in Australia. Blooprint is an Amazon SPN verified partner that works with Australian sellers remotely from Bengaluru.