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Today the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched the Australian Product Safety Pledge, aiming to protect Australian consumers from safety risks when shopping online by strengthening product safety measures across online businesses.

NRA advocacy

Industry has pushed for online product safety to be on the agenda for regulators for a long time. In 2019, the NRA submitted to the ACCC our support for the inclusion of “improving product safety in the online marketplace, with a focus on improving the safety of products sold on online platforms” in the Product Safety Priorities for the year.

The NRA had the opportunity to review the pledge earlier this year and provide feedback into its development.

The rise of e-commerce

The e-commerce market in Australia was already rapidly growing and with the boom in online shopping due to the pandemic, it is more important than ever for businesses to priorities product safety.

Four of Australia’s largest e-commerce retailers, Amazon Australia, eBay Australia, Catch.com.au, and AliExpress have already signed the pledge signifying a growing industry commitment to consumers’ safety.

The Pledge

The pledge is a voluntary initiative that commits its signatories to a range of safety related responsibilities that go beyond what is legally required of them.

The pledge consists of 12 commitments that aim to strengthen product safety across online businesses through a combination of preventative and corrective actions. The pledge is accompanied by a guidance document which outlines good practice compliance approaches to help signatories meet the pledge commitments. Signatories include, but are not limited to, online businesses that facilitate marketplace services, engaging in business-to-consumer or consumer-to-consumer transactions via the internet.

The NRA strongly supports this safety-first message and encourages more online retailers to confirm their commitment to protecting Australian consumers from unsafe goods online by signing the pledge.

READ THE PLEDGE  ACCESS GUIDANCE FOR SIGNATORIES