Product safety

Announcements

Consumer Protection contact centre temporary closure

As a result of the Premier’s announcement placing WA into a hard lockdown until 6pm on Friday, 5 February, our counter and phone services are currently unavailable. You are encouraged to email any enquiries to consumer@demirs.wa.gov.au . If your matter is urgent, please include a contact telephone number in your email and Consumer Protection will call you back within 24 hours. We will resume full...
Consumer Protection
Department News
01 Feb 2021

Consider safety and road rules when buying e-scooters for Christmas

Consumers buying e-scooters or e-skateboards as Christmas gifts this year are being urged to consider the safety and road rules relating to these products before purchasing. The growing popularity of what are referred to as ‘personal mobility devices’ is leading to a growing need for these devices to be used safely, especially in the wake of the death of a 24 year old man who fell from an...
Consumer Protection
Media release
18 Dec 2020

Gas safety warning for campers

WA’s energy safety regulator is reminding campers that outdoor gas appliances must only be used in the open air to avoid potentially lethal exposure to carbon monoxide. Building and Energy’s warning comes as West Australians gear up for a summer in the great outdoors with portable gas-fuelled equipment such as barbecues, cookers, heaters and fridges. “Outdoor use means the open air,” WA Director...
Building and Energy
Media release
25 Nov 2020

Don’t duck out – make portable pools SAFE

A child safety campaign has been re-launched highlighting the dangers of portable pools with, on average, one child drowning every year in Australia and many more needing hospital treatment, some left with severe brain injuries. The ‘Don’t Duck Out, Make it SAFE’ summer campaign involves product safety regulators throughout Australia, including Consumer Protection in WA, joining forces with the...
Consumer Protection
Media release
02 Nov 2020

Halloween hazards: beware button batteries

Consumer Protection has issued a Halloween warning about potentially deadly button batteries and other hazards found in some novelty items and trick-or-treat costumes. The agency’s product safety inspectors have been out and about ahead of Halloween and have identified a number of non-compliant products. A zombie face mask and a skull hat were both found to have button batteries that easily fell...
Consumer Protection
Media release
29 Oct 2020

Zero toddler drowning deaths in WA - a credit to our State

The regulator responsible for enforcing swimming pool safety barrier standards has commended the WA community for achieving zero toddler drowning deaths in 2019/2020. The Building and Energy division of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) believes the results featured in the Royal Life Saving’s National Drowning Report show that local government pool barrier...
Building and Energy
Media release
23 Sep 2020

Commissioner's Blog: Wait for safer quad bikes

‘Panic-buying’ is a term we’d usually associate with grocery shopping in 2020, however there are suggestions it may be happening in the quad-bike industry currently on the eve of new safety regulations. We have been concerned to hear reports that some quad bike dealerships are running low on stock as farmers and other consumers rush to buy-up current models that do not meet the important new...
Consumer Protection
Media release
23 Jul 2020

Consumer Protection’s hot safety tips for a cold winter

Winter has officially arrived and many of us have already dragged out the winter woollies, electric blankets and hot water bottles, so here is a timely reminder about using these products safely. Commissioner for Consumer Protection Lanie Chopping said a number of winter warmer products may pose a safety risk if they are old, worn or not used properly. “As with any product, but particularly...
Consumer Protection
Media release
02 Jun 2020

Commissioner's Blog: Stay safe from silent killer

Heating appliances will soon be emerging from hibernation as cooler weather sets in, particularly with many of us working from home this winter. If you are using a gas heater, our colleagues at Building and Energy have issued a timely warning about the dangers of exposure to carbon monoxide, which can leak from faulty, poorly maintained or misused gas appliances. Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘...
Building and Energy / Consumer Protection
Media release
14 May 2020

Spa supplier in hot water over missing warnings (Hunter Products Pty Ltd / Jeffrey Hunter)

Failing to display warning labels on the retail packaging of portable spas has prompted the supplier to introduce strict new quality assurance procedures and donate $10,000 to Royal Life Saving Australia. The measures are part of an enforceable undertaking entered into by Hunter Products Pty Ltd and its sole director Jeffrey Donald Hunter after Consumer Protection commenced legal action in the...
Consumer Protection
Media release
21 Apr 2020

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