Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) has begun civil proceedings against Origo & Co Pty Ltd (ACN: 140 019 656) – previously Daiso (Australia) Pty Ltd – in the Federal Court of Australia, for alleged contraventions of product safety provisions and other protections under the Australian Consumer Law.
CAV will allege that between 2011 and 2016, the company possessed, controlled, supplied and sold products that did not meet the requirements of the relevant Australian product safety and information standards.
CAV will allege that the products in question (outlined below) were unsafe and could have caused injuries, because consumers were not warned of the potential dangers through appropriate product safety and information standard labelling.
The products were:
- Projectile toys – can cause serious facial and eye injuries, including blindness, and/or serious flesh wounds
- Toys for children under three years of age – can cause choking hazards or internal injuries if small parts are swallowed
- Luggage straps – can cause serious eye, facial or chest injuries
- Sunglasses – can expose eyes to very high levels of sunlight causing serious and sometimes irreversible damage, including inflammation, cataracts, or retina degeneration
- Cosmetics – can cause skin allergies or irritations if ingredient labels are not present or are inaccurate.
The products were sold at the company’s Abbotsford store (that store has now relocated to Richmond), as well as Bourke Street (Midtown), Box Hill, Doncaster and Highpoint stores.