Dear Stakeholder  
 
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is reviewing the mandatory 
safety standard for pedal b icycles  (the Mandatory Standard ).  
 
The ACCC seeks your views on the review of the  Mandatory S tandard , and the potential 
impact of changes on you r business , consumers and the safety of the product.  
 
We seek your views on : 
 
a) updating the Mandatory Standard to permit compliance with the latest edition of the 
voluntary Australian standard, and 3 comparable overseas standards  (the U.S. 
CPS C, the ISO and the EN – more information on the overseas standards are 
provided below) . The Mandatory Standard would reference each of these 4 
standards in full, without amendments, or  
b) revoking the Mandatory Standard . 
Review of the Mandatory Standard  
The Mandatory Standard is the  Consumer Protection Notice No. 6 of 2004 - Consumer 
Product Safety Standard: Pedal Bicycles: Safety Requirements . The  Mandatory Standard is 
based on the voluntary Australian and New Zealand St andard AS/NZS 1927:1998  Pedal 
Bicycles . 
The Mandatory Standard regulates  the design and labelling requirements for child and adult 
pedal bicycles.  
Policy options  
Option  1 – Accept  latest Australian standard and  overseas trusted standards  
The ACCC’s preliminary position is to reference the most current edition of the Australian 
voluntary standard  in addition to overseas standards . The ACCC has reviewed the other 
voluntary overseas standards and considers that these standards specify similar safety 
requirements to the voluntary Australian standard.  
The ACCC proposes to update the Mandatory Standard to permit compliance with any of the 
following voluntary /mandatory  standards:  
• AS/NZS 1927:2010 Pedal bicycles  
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 CFR Part 1512 ), Requirements for 
Bicycles  
• ISO 4210 :2014  Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles  
o ISO 4210 -1 Terms and definitions  
o ISO 4210 -2 Requirements for city and trekking, young adult, mountain and racing 
bicycles  
o ISO 4210 -3 Common test methods  
o ISO 4210 -4 Braking test methods  
o ISO 4210 -5 Steering test methods  
o ISO 4210 -6 Frame and fork test methods  
o ISO 4210 -7 Wheels and rims test methods  o ISO 4210 -8 Pedal and drive system test methods  
o ISO 4210 -9 Saddle and seat -post test methods  
• EN ISO 4210 :2014  Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles  (which is the adoption 
of ISO standards 4210 :2014 1-9)  
o EN ISO 4210 -1 Terms and definitions  
o EN ISO 4210 -2 Requirements for city and trekking, young adult, mountain and 
racing bicycles  
o EN ISO 4210 -3 Common test methods  
o EN ISO 4210 -4 Braking test methods  
o EN ISO 4210 -5 Steering test methods  
o EN ISO 4210 -6 Frame and fork test methods  
o EN ISO 4210 -7 Wheels and rims test methods  
o EN ISO 4210 -8 Pedal and drive system test methods  
o EN ISO 4210 -9 Saddles and seat-post test methods  
Benefit  
Suppliers and consumers would benefit from being able to supply and buy a greater range of 
pedal bicycles  that comply with trusted overseas standards.  Compliance costs and the 
administrative burden for suppliers will also be minimised.  
Risk  
Enforcement of the Mandatory Standard by the ACCC could potentially be more onerous. 
Suppliers would be required to dec lare which of the standards they  are meeting to 
demonstrate compliance with the Mandatory Standard. This declaration would need to be 
available at the point of sale ( e.g. on the pedal bicycle, on assembly/use instructions, or the 
internet).   
Option 2 – Revoke the Mandatory Standard  
Revoking the Mandatory Standard would mean suppliers would still need to comply with 
Australian Consumer Law (ACL)  provisions.   
If pedal bicycle suppliers represent that their goods meet a particular standard (such as 
AS/NZS 1 927), those assertions must be true, and suppliers have an obligation to ensure 
that is the case. This provides a statutory mechanism for the ACCC to test pedal bicycles  
which claim compliance with the voluntary Australian standard or any other standard.  
Non-compliance with the voluntary Australian standard could be assessed as a safety issue 
which may result in the recall of unsafe pedal bicycles  and the ACCC pursuing breaches of 
the ACL.  
Benefit  
Revoking the Mandatory Standard would result in  no direct compliance costs for industry. 
Any international trade restrictions resulting from the current Mandatory Standard  would be 
removed, making it easier for businesses to import products to Australia. This may result in 
lower priced pedal bicycles a nd a wider range of pedal bicycles becoming available to 
Australian consumers.  
 Risk    
Without a  mandatory standard , there may be a rise in the number of pedal bicycles supplied 
that do not provide an adequate level of safety  to cyclists .  
The consumer  protection  provisions  of the ACL may not provide sufficient incentives to 
suppliers to ensure that their goods offer an acceptable level of safety. Without a  mandatory 
standard , suppliers will determine the safety requirements for their products.  
If the Man datory Standard were to be revoked, t here is a risk that quality standards may 
decrease over time . There is a possibility that  there would be a segmentation of the market 
between less safe products which may be offered at a cheaper price and safer products 
offered at a price premium. If there was a prevalence of pedal bicycles without  basic safety 
features, or were subject to increased level of component failure, there will be a risk of 
increased injury or death.  
Questions  
The ACCC seeks your views on the proposal discussed above and responses to the 
questions below:  
1. Which policy option (option 1 or 2) do you support, and why?  
2. Should the ACCC consider another option? If so, which option and why?  
3. Do you consider that the adoption of the listed  overseas standards for pedal bicycle s 
in Option 1 is beneficial ? 
4. Do you believe  overseas standards offer a comparable level of safety  to the 
Australian standard ? 
5. Do you support the ACCC referencing  the entire (c omplete) voluntary Australian 
standard and  each of  the overseas standards  in Option 1?  
6. Do you believe allowing the supply of pedal bicycles  that comply with overseas 
standards  in Option 1  could cause confusion for retailers and consumers ? 
7. Would Option 2 have the potential to introduce safety issues for pedal bicycles ? 
8. What other issues in terms of compliance for the industry or your business could 
either of the  two options  introduce?  
Background   
The ACCC administers product safety laws designed to ensure certain consumer products 
are safe.  
Certain products sold in Australia are subject to mandatory safety standards which are 
introduced when necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury to a p erson. The ACCC 
has an ongoing program of reviewing mandatory safety standards to ensure their 
effectiveness and currency.  
Current regulatory  context  
Mandatory safety standards may reference voluntary standards (in part or in whole), that 
have been develop ed by recognised standards making bodies in Australia (i.e., Standards 
Australia) or overseas. These standards making bodies regularly update their standards.  The ACCC is reviewing the mandatory safety standard  for pedal bicycle s and is considering 
referencing the most up to date voluntary Australian and overseas standards.  
Your feedback  
The ACCC invites you to comment on this review. Please provide your submissions via 
email to productsafety.regulation@accc.gov.au  by 21 November  2022.   
If you have any  questions  about this consultatio n before the due date , please  email  them  to 
productsafety.regulation@accc.gov.au . 
Thank you for your time and consideration.