A national retailer that sold unsafe and insufficiently labelled products to Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland consumers has been ordered to pay $1 million by the Federal Court of Australia.
Daiso Industries (Australia) Pty Ltd (ACN: 160 576 134) was found to have supplied, offered to supply or possessed goods that did not comply with mandatory product safety and information standards, in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law and Australian Consumer Law (Victoria).
A cross-jurisdiction investigation, involving Consumer Affairs Victoria and our counterparts in New South Wales and Queensland, led to the seizure of more than 6,500 non-compliant products from 15 Daiso stores across Australia, including seven in Victoria.
The seized products included:
- dangerous projectile toys
- toys for children under three posing potential choking hazards
- sunglasses, luggage straps and cosmetics with incorrect or insufficient labelling.
In addition to the $1 million penalty, the company has also been ordered to:
- pay costs of $160,000
- implement an ongoing compliance plan with a qualified independent external compliance consultant review, and reporting requirements to Consumer Affairs Victoria
- pay the costs of the destruction and disposal of any contravening goods seized or purchased as part of the cross-jurisdictional investigation.
Daiso Industries (Australia) must also issue a public notice acknowledging the court’s orders in major metropolitan newspapers (the Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph), as well as on all Daiso websites.