[a] key element in product safety policy is the message that’s conveyed to the business community. Without a GSP, suppliers of most products are far less aware of safety and have far less incentive to give safety priority over business costs and other practical factors… Having a GSP in the ACL could engender a much higher awareness of product safety across all suppliers and provide clear motivations to only design, source and supply safe products. In contrast, stakeholders who did not support a general safety provision argued that it would add to compliance costs without providing any clear benefit. For example, the Law Council of Australia’s Competition and Consumer Committee submitted that a general safety provision would ‘simply result in unnecessary duplication and an increased compliance burden for businesses, without any increase in protection for consumers.’ Communications Alliance submitted that a ‘blanket ban on the supply of unsafe goods’: would create uncertainty and compliance difficulties for suppliers… uncertainty and greater compliance costs could provide a strong disincentive to develop and supply new and innovative goods and services ... This would have a particularly negative impact on certain industries (such as telecommunications) where technology is rapidly advancing and offering consumers an increasing range of options. It also submitted that a general prohibition ‘would create uncertainty and compliance difficulties for suppliers’ as to whether their goods are safe where no standard for safety exists. For consultation Option 1 — Introduce a general prohibition against the supply of unsafe goods (‘general safety provision’) As discussed above, CAANZ notes the stakeholders identified a wide range of benefits and costs associated with introducing a general safety provision. To assess whether the case has been made for a general safety provision, CAANZ has identified the following principles for doing evaluating the effectiveness of a product safety regime: The law should be clear. The law should efficiently allocate risk to the party best able to manage those risks. A product safety regime should have levers and incentives that encourage businesses to comply. The law should have adequate penalties to deter future breaches by a business, and by businesses more generally. The benefits of a product safety regime should outweigh the costs. Table 3 below suggests key principles, and possible issues to consider, for an effective product safety regime. In particular, CAANZ seeks views on: whether these principles are appropriate and relevant for a product safety regime
C: Accord Australasia Advertising Standards Bureau Airline Customer Advocate Allens Anonymous 1 Anonymous 2 Anonymous 3 Arnold Bloch Leibler Australia and New Zealand Ombudsman Association Australian Association of National Advertisers Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association Australian Automotive Dealer Association Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Australian Charities and NotforProfits Commission Australian Communications and Media Authority Australian Communications Consumer Action Network Australian Finance Conference Australian Food and Grocery Council Australian Furniture Removers Association Australian Industry Group Australian Institute of Architects Australian Institute of Company Directors Australian Newsagents’ Federation Australian Retailers Association Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Australian Tattooists Guild Australian Toy Association Baker & McKenzie Bebbington, Mr Bruce Blums, Mr Andris Bonwick, Mr Monte Business Council of Australia Cancer Council Queensland Caravan Camping and Touring Industry and Manufactured Housing Industry Association of NSW Caravan Industry Association of Australia Clamers, Mr Alan Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand CHOICE Clarke, Mr Philip H Commercial and Property Law Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Australia Communications Alliance Community Council for Australia Consult Australia Consumer Action Law Centre Consumer Credit Legal Service WA Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association Consumers’ Federation of Australia CPA Australia Customer Owned Banking Association Daly, Dr Angela and Scardamaglia, Dr Amanda Direct Selling Australia eBay Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria EnergyAustralia Engineers Australia Ethnic Communities Council of NSW
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Financial Counselling Australia Financial Rights Legal Centre Fundraising Institute of Australia Goulburn Valley Community Legal Centre and Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre Governance Institute of Australia Groupon Guenther, C and Lyons, M J Housing Industry Association Howlett, Ms Gwendolyn Industry Super Australia Insurance Australia Group Insurance Council of Australia Interactive Games and Entertainment Association Justice Connect Notforprofit Law Justice Connect Referral Service Law Council of Australia Law Council of Australia Legal Practice Section Law Institute Victoria Law Society of NSW Law Society of WA Legal Aid NSW Legal Aid Queensland Legal Services Commission of SA Lemon Laws 4 Aus Lewins, Ms Kate Lewis, Mr Rodney Master Electricians Australia Melbourne Social Equity Institute Melbourne University — Associate Professor Jeannie Paterson and Professor Elise Bant MGA Independent Retailers Middleton, Mr Thomas MinterEllison Motor Trade Association of SA Motor Trade Association of WA Motor Traders’ Association of NSW Motor Trades Association of Australia Motor Trades Association of Queensland Norton Gledhill Nottage, Mr Luke NSW Business Chamber Obesity Policy Coalition Office of the NSW Small Business Commissioner Office of Multicultural Interests WA Petre, Ms Clare Product Safety Solutions Prolegis Lawyers Public Fundraising Regulatory Association Public Transport Ombudsman Victoria Queensland Consumers Association Queensland Law Society Ramsay, Mr Duncan Real Estate Institute of New South Wales Red Energy and Lumo Energy Redfern Legal Centre Retail Council Robertson, Mr James Robinson, Dr Dorothy Rodan + Fields Sales Assured Seddon, Mr Nick Senior Rights Service Shopping Centre Council of Australia Sise, Mr Peter Slater + Gordon Lawyers Small Business Commissioner SA Small Business Development Corporation Smith, Mr Neil South Australian Independent Retailers
D: Australian Industry Group Business Council of Australia Carolyn Bond AO Canberra Business Chamber CCL Consultants CHOICE Professor Sharon Christensen, Queensland University of Technology Consumer Action Law Centre Consumer Advisory Committee (WA) Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) Consumer Regulator Forum (Qld) Consumer Utilities Action Centre Council of Social Services (ACT) Council of Social Services (NSW) Council of Social Services (SA) Council of the Ageing (NT) Professor Stephen Corones, Queensland University of Technology Darwin Community Legal Service Dell Australia Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (Cth) Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (Vic) Department of Health (Cth) Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (Cth) Department of Justice and Regulation (Vic) Direct Selling Australia Disability Rights Advocacy Service Thomas Duggan SC Financial Rights Legal Centre Food Safety Australia and New Zealand Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria First Nations Foundation Groupon Dr Tess Hardy, Melbourne University Independent Supermarket Retailers Guild of South Australia Kidsafe SA Kidsafe WA Law Council of Australia Competition and Consumer Committee Law Institute of Victoria Law Society of NT Law Society of SA Law Society of WA Legal Aid NSW Legal Aid Commission of NT Legal Aid Queensland Legal Services Commission of SA Melbourne University Dr Jim Minifie, Grattan Institute Motor Trades Association of the ACT Motor Trades Association NSW Motor Trades Association NT Motor Vehicle Industry Advisory Committee WA National Retail Association Office for the Ageing SA Associate Professor Jeannie Paterson, Melbourne University People with Disabilities WA Queensland Office of Fair Trading Stakeholder Forum Real Estate Institute of NSW Real Estate Institute of Western Australia
Retail Council Redfern Legal Centre Senior Rights Service Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (Cth) Office of the NSW Small Business Commissioner Small Business Commissioner (SA) Small Business Commissioner (Victoria) Small Business Development Corporation (WA) Dr Rhonda Smith, Melbourne University Standards Australia Ray Steinwall, Novartis Super Retail Group Therapeutic Goods Administration Uber UnitingCare Wesley Bowden Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce