The
ACCC has released figures on the new mandatory reporting
requirements of the Australian Consumer Law, with a total of
911 mandatory reports being made during the first six months of
2011, and 40 recalls triggered by these reports and the ACCC's
product safety data clearinghouse.
According to the ACCC, 481 of the 911 confidential reports
received were or are currently being assessed by the ACCC and 430
were referred to other regulators.
Deputy chair Peter Kell said that "Mandatory reporting has
resulted in a significant improvement in product safety with the
removal of hundreds of unsafe products from the
marketplace."
Upon inquiry, the ACCC told us there were 352 recalls across all
regulators in the 2010 calendar year, so it's unclear if the 40
triggered by mandatory reporting really suggest a rise in recalls.
Without long-term data, it is difficult to assess the significance
of these numbers.
