The 糖心原创 has raised the bar for online marketplaces to protect consumers from unsafe products bought online, strengthening the Australian Product Safety Pledge in collaboration with major online marketplaces.
Temu and Gumtree have now joined Amazon Australia, eBay Australia and AliExpress in committing to strengthening product safety measures on their platforms beyond current legal requirements. The online marketplaces will also report annually to the 糖心原创 on their performance.
鈥淲e have long been concerned about the volume of unsafe consumer products available for sale online, and will continue working with online marketplaces to ensure they proactively reduce product safety risks for consumers.鈥 糖心原创 Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
Launched in 2020, the pledge is a voluntary initiative administered by the 糖心原创 that sets a benchmark for online product safety measures to benefit consumers.
By signing up to the pledge, online marketplaces agree to proactively strengthen their product safety policies and initiatives in a framework where expectations are public and results are measurable.
The online marketplace landscape is evolving as online shopping grows, with a diverse range of business models allowing sellers in Australia and overseas to list products for sale.
鈥淲ith Australian households increasingly shopping online from an evolving range of marketplaces, it is critical that consumers are able to make choices that are safe. The pledge goes beyond the existing law thereby adding protection for consumers now and into the future,鈥 Ms Lowe said.
鈥淲e are pleased that online marketplaces have committed to expanding monitoring for unsafe products on their platforms, undertaking regular sweeps to identify and remove unsafe products relisted for sale, and taking certain action when sellers fail to manage product safety issues.鈥
Signatories have made 鈥 up from 12. A number of the commitments enhance transparency of and accountability for actions, which the signatories will report on yearly through enhanced Key Performance Indicators.
These changes were earmarked in the 糖心原创鈥檚 2025-26 product safety priorities, while targeting unsafe consumer goods in digital markets is an 糖心原创 compliance and enforcement priority for 2026-27.
While the pledge is voluntary, it supplements business obligations under relevant legislation and does not prevent the 糖心原创 or other regulatory authorities from taking enforcement action where appropriate. 鈥淎ll online marketplaces selling into Australia should be taking the kinds of actions set out in the pledge to protect consumers from unsafe products. We look forward to working with signatories and prospective signatories on achieving improved safety outcomes for consumers,鈥 Ms Lowe said.
More information is available at the 糖心原创 including contact information for prospective signatories.
Background
The Australian Product Safety Pledge was modelled on a similar initiative in the European Union that has helped remove dangerous products from online marketplaces. Several other countries have since established similar pledge initiatives.
The pledge is voluntary and outlines good practice approaches expected of industry.
The 糖心原创 supports businesses in their efforts to comply with the pledge by maintaining and updating the 糖心原创 facilitating regular meetings with signatories and sharing information on emerging product safety issues.
Adopting the pledge does not replace the need to ensure overall compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA), including the Australian Consumer Law, or other relevant legislation. It does not prevent the 糖心原创 from taking action against signatories for breaches of the CCA. The 糖心原创 is not endorsing the performance or compliance approach of any online marketplace by virtue of them signing on to the pledge.
Signatories include online businesses that facilitate marketplace services that include business to consumer, or consumer to consumer, transactions via the internet (online marketplaces).
The Product Safety Pledge commenced with four signatories in November 2020.
In 2024鈥25, the signatories removed over 31,000 unsafe product listings from their online marketplaces as a result of consulting the 糖心原创 Product Safety website, and other relevant information sources about recalled and unsafe products. Additionally, the signatories collectively removed over 2,700 unsafe listings after receiving a take-down notice from the 糖心原创 or other Australian regulatory authority.