Children Archives - Consumers' Federation of Australia

30 November , 2023

Riff Raff Penalised Over Alleged False or Misleading Infant Sleep Aid Toys Ads

Online national retailer Riff Raff Baby Pty Ltd has paid penalties of $132,000 after the ACCC issued it with eight infringement notices for allegedly making false or misleading statements about its comforter toys being safe for sleep from birth.

Riff Raff has also provided the ACCC with a court-enforceable undertaking in which it admits that the advertisements for its sleep aid toys were likely to have breached the Australian Consumer Law.

“Based on these advertisements by Riff Raff, parents and caregivers may have thought that these products are safe for babies to sleep next to in an unsupervised sleep environment, when in fact there are serious safety risks. These types of products can cover a baby’s nose and mouth, which can pose a risk of fatal suffocation,” ACCC Deputy Chair, Catriona Lowe said.

23 November , 2023

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Opens Draft Industry Standards to Public Consultation

“eSafety and indeed the wider community, expect that all online services, should be taking all reasonable steps to prevent their services from being used to store, share and distribute this horrific content and that’s what these standards are intended to achieve.”

24 October , 2023

Have your say on the revised swimming pool standard

Drowning is the third most common cause of death for Australian children aged one to 14. Children can drown in as little as 20 seconds – one-and two-year-old children are particularly at risk, read more and find out about Water Safety Rules for Children. Statistical evidence shows that the majority of drowning deaths in private…

23 October , 2023

Children’s Week 2023

Children’s Week celebrates the right of children to enjoy childhood. The theme for Children’s Week 2023 is Children have the right to relax, play and take part in activities they enjoy (based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child). Children’s Week is a national celebration that recognises the talents, skills, achievements, and rights of children. During Children’s Week, local councils, not-for-profit organisations, schools, and early childhood services organise open days, displays, special events, virtual spaces, and online-based activities. Find out more about Children’s Week and celebrations near you here.

9 October , 2023

New Mandatory Safety Standards to Protect Children from Choking Hazards

The ACCC will enforce the new toy safety standard which will make it mandatory for all toys marketed at children under three to adhere to strict design and testing requirements ensuring toys do not contain small parts.

3 October , 2023

Market Forces Fail to Deliver Accessible and Affordable Childcare

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) yesterday released the second interim report for their 2022-23 inquiry into childcare. Included in the report are draft findings and recommendations on the costs, profitability and viability, policy, and effectiveness of market regulations specific to the Australian childcare sector – with reference to other OECD countries which largely…

19 September , 2023

Almost a Third of Playpens Fail CHOICE Safety Test

Original media release from CHOICE (30/08/2023). “We gave several playpens a score of zero for performance simply because they had so many failures,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE’s team leader for household products. In fact, eight of the 25 models in our current review failed to pass CHOICE’s key safety requirements – that’s almost a third, a…

29 June , 2023

Financial Counsellors Welcome Proposal to Ban Gambling Ads and Inducements

Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) welcomes the recommendations made by a Government inquiry into online gambling harm, saying the committee has heard the concerns of financial counsellors and the community, and responded.

20 June , 2023

Have Your Say on Child Car Restraints

Child safety in the car includes appropriate child car restraints to keep children safe inside cars, find out more on ACCC Product safety which includes recalls of products that do not comply to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) child restraints mandatory standard.

20 June , 2023

Infant Inclined Product and Sudden Death

Infant incline products may be marketed for sleep, however they are unsafe for babies to sleep in. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) advises reports indicate 151 babies in Australia have died in inclined products such as rockers, bouncers, and on propped items.

13 June , 2023

Button Battery Awareness Day 12th June 2023

Australia’s first International Button Battery Awareness Day aims to spread further awareness about the dangers of button batteries among schools, parents, caregivers and childhood educators through the delivery of an educational program designed for early childhood and primary school aged children. In Australia, around 20 children a week present to an emergency department with a button…

1 June , 2023

eSafety Commissioner Accepts Some, Rejects Others in World-First Industry Codes

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has made the decision not to register two of eight online safety codes drafted by the online industry as they fail to provide appropriate community safeguards to deal with illegal and harmful content online.