The Competition and Consumer Act ("CCA")
deals with the way product recalls are handled in Australia. Most
suppliers often initiate the recall of dangerous products
themselves, getting ahead of that potentially dangerous curve and
poor publicity. However, in some cases, recall notices are not
issued by the suppliers, and instead the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission ("ACCC") can recommend to the
Minister that a compulsory recall be initiated.
On 13 July 2017 a man in NSW was
tragically killed as a result of his faulty airbag. This
sparked urgent investigations by the ACCC which found that the
affected Takata airbags were degrading over time, misdeploying and
firing metal shards (similar to shrapnel) towards the occupants of
the vehicles.
