First, understand what the flag does not prove
A listing review can compare titles, descriptions and known attributes with selected product-safety rules. It cannot inspect the physical product. It cannot authenticate a laboratory report. It cannot decide whether every clause of a standard applies.
A flag therefore means one thing: a possible rule, ban or evidence requirement needs review. It is not a finding that the product is unsafe or unlawful.
A possible scope match or missing fact needs review.
Your team recorded a decision and its basis for that issue.
Not an automated status this tool can award.
Mandatory standards cover selected product categories. When a standard applies, suppliers must meet it before supply. Product Safety Australia includes retailers and importers within the supply chain. Product safety standards and how to comply (opens in a new tab)
Identify the exact product before debating the rule
“LED lamp” is not an identity. Neither is the supplier's product photo. Evidence is useful only when it can be tied to the model and stock you actually sell.
- Shopify title and handle
- SKU and every affected variant
- Supplier, manufacturer and exact model number
- Batch, serial or production-date identifiers
- Product, component and packaging photographs
- Instructions, labels and warnings
- Units held, supplied, returned or complained about
Official guidance says reports should cover the correct stock and the relevant Australian mandatory requirement. Batch codes and delivery dates may matter. How to source and test products (opens in a new tab)
The certificate that answered the wrong question
A small homewares merchant imports an LED bedside light with a remote. The catalogue says only “battery included.” The review flags a possible button-battery issue.
The supplier replies, “CE and RoHS certified,” then sends a one-page certificate. The model number differs from the Shopify product by one character.
The merchant keeps the case open. They request the remote's exact battery type, component photographs, packaging and warning images, the correct model number and the report relied on for the relevant Australian requirements.
New photographs show a CR2032 coin battery. The original certificate does not address that component or establish that it covers the current stock. The merchant pauses supply and moves the case to specialist review.
The review did not “catch an illegal lamp.” It exposed missing information that made a confident clearance impossible.
Choose an immediate state without pretending it is final
| What you know | Immediate workflow |
|---|---|
| The listing is ambiguous | Inspect the product and request the missing facts. |
| A standard may apply and evidence is missing | Consider pausing supply while the gap is resolved. |
| The report names another model or requirement | Keep the case open and request matching evidence. |
| The product may be banned or already unsafe | Stop treating it as a paperwork issue. Escalate the risk and recall assessment. |
| A qualifying serious incident may be associated | Assess mandatory reporting immediately. |
A banned product must not be supplied in Australia. Do not infer a ban from a listing review alone; compare the identified product with the official ban and obtain qualified advice when scope is uncertain. Product bans and how to comply (opens in a new tab)
Do not ask the supplier, “Is this compliant?”
That question invites an unusable yes. Ask for records that can be checked against the exact product instead.
We are reviewing this exact product for supply in Australia. Please provide:
- the manufacturer and exact model number
- photographs of the product, components, packaging, labels and warnings
- the applicable Australian mandatory requirement, if any
- the complete test report relied upon
- confirmation that the report covers this model and current production batch
- the laboratory name and relevant accreditation details
- any design, material or production changes since testing
Please identify which document covers each listed SKU or variant.
A certificate filename is not the conclusion. Product Safety Australia recommends checking that the report is complete, covers the correct stock, addresses the relevant Australian standard and shows the necessary requirements were tested and passed. How to source and test products (opens in a new tab)
Test the evidence, not just the filename
- 01Does the product model match exactly?
- 02Do the batch or production dates match?
- 03Does the report cover every relevant component?
- 04Does it address the applicable Australian requirement?
- 05Were all relevant mandatory requirements tested and passed?
- 06Is the laboratory's relevant accreditation current and documented?
- 07Has the product changed since it was tested?
- 08Are the conclusions consistent with the reported results?
If an answer remains unclear, leave the case at evidence review or specialist review. Uncertainty is not a positive result.
Record a narrow outcome
Close the screening question you actually investigated. Do not use one document to declare the entire product “certified safe.”
The record should name the owner, product, source rule, evidence, checks, decision, rationale and date. The ACCC identifies written records, testing, inspections and complaint handling as elements of a compliance program. Developing a compliance program (opens in a new tab)
Do not confuse the two separate two-day clocks
A catalogue flag alone starts neither clock. Facts about an incident or an actual recall action may do so.
A supplier must report after becoming aware that a supplied consumer product caused or may have caused a death, serious injury or serious illness. Foreseeable misuse can count.
When a supplier must report an incident (opens in a new tab)After commencing a safety-related recall, the supplier must notify the ACCC. More information can be provided later.
Tell the ACCC of a recall (opens in a new tab)If a potentially unsafe product has already been supplied, widen the review to affected models, batches, units sold, complaints, foreseeable misuse, likelihood and severity of harm. Identify affected products and assess the risk (opens in a new tab)
If the supplier does not answer
Silence is not evidence. Keep the request and follow-up dates in the case record. If a relevant mandatory standard may apply and you cannot establish that the exact product meets it, do not continue supplying the product as though the question were resolved. Seek suitable testing, specialist advice or another supplier.
Move the flag out of the inbox.
Give it an exact product, evidence request, status, decision owner and recorded basis.