Children

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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.

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

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“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.”

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

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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…

Read More Have your say on the revised swimming pool standard

Children's Week 2023 21-29 October 2023 Theme: Children have the right to relax, play and take part in activities they enjoy.

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.

Read More Children’s Week 2023

Drawing of a toy for an infant. If has a smiling face, string coming out of its head and a segmented body ending in a teething ring. Drawing of a toy for an infant. If has a smiling face, string coming out of its head and a segmented body ending in a teething ring.

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.

Read More New Mandatory Safety Standards to Protect Children from Choking Hazards

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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…

Read More Market Forces Fail to Deliver Accessible and Affordable Childcare

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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…

Read More Almost a Third of Playpens Fail CHOICE Safety Test

ACCC product safety: sleep your baby safe. Putting your baby to sleep flat on their back is the safest way for them to sleep

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.

Read More Infant Inclined Product and Sudden Death

International Button Battery Awareness Day

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…

Read More Button Battery Awareness Day 12th June 2023