In July 2026, the ACCC updated its guidance on mandatory product safety reporting through the release of two publications: the Product Safety Mandatory Reporting Guidelines and the Reporting deaths, and serious injuries or illness to the ACCC: Quick Reference Guide (together, the New Guidelines). The New Guidelines replace the previous guidance issued in December 2021. While the underlying product safety reporting and product recall obligations under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) have not changed, the New Guidelines provide a simpler and more practical framework for assessing reportable incidents and reinforce the ACCC’s expectation that businesses take a proactive approach to product safety reporting. Importantly, product safety reporting is a distinct obligation from reporting a product recall to the ACCC, which may arise independently of or together with a reportable incident.

For businesses that manufacture, import, distribute, sell, install or service consumer products or provide other product-related services, the New Guidelines are a timely reminder to review internal product safety and incident escalation processes.

What has changed?

Simplified reporting framework

The New Guidelines are now more clearly structured around the three criteria for determining whether a mandatory product safety report should be lodged with the ACCC:

1. the business supplies a consumer good or product-related service;
2. the business becomes aware of a death, serious injury or serious illness; and
3. the business, or another person, considers the incident was caused, or may have been caused, by the use or foreseeable misuse of the product.

Importantly, a business is taken to become “aware” of an incident, and its mandatory reporting obligations are triggered, when any employee, contractor or representative receives information about a potentially reportable incident. Those reporting obligations may arise from foreseeable misuse of a product, even where the product was not used in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. They may also arise where a business providing a product-related service becomes aware of a product that may have caused a death, serious injury or serious illness regardless of whether the service itself had any connection to the incident.

Greater emphasis on voluntary reporting

The ACCC reiterates that making a product safety report upon becoming aware of death, serious injury or serious illness is not an admission of liability, and encourages businesses to make a voluntary product safety report even where:

• there is insufficient information to determine whether death, serious injury or serious illness has occurred;
• an incident is a “near miss” that could have resulted in death, serious injury or serious illness; or
• an online marketplace that is not the supplier of the product becomes aware of a death, serious injury or serious illness involving a third-party seller on their platform.

This clarifies that businesses providing product-related services, and not only those that manufacture or sell the goods themselves, should ensure they have adequate reporting procedures in place.

Internal processes

The New Guidelines encourage businesses to maintain effective reporting systems, including clear escalation procedures, employee training and designated responsibility for product safety reporting to ensure businesses can respond and act in a timely manner as required by the ACL.

This could include:

• delegating to an appropriate person the responsibility of product safety reporting;
• routinely educating all employees, contractors and other representatives of the business about product safety reporting; and
• developing procedures to ensure potentially reportable incidents are identified, escalated and reported promptly, and obtaining as much information as possible, from those involved.

What remains unchanged?

The ACCC continues to take a broad approach to product safety reporting relating to death, serious injury or serious illness. The key principles remain that:

• mandatory product safety reports must be submitted within two days of becoming aware of a reportable incident;
• a report may be required even where the supplier disagrees that the product caused the injury, provided another person considers it may have done so;
• reporting obligations continue to apply broadly across the supply chain;
• foreseeable misuse of a product can trigger reporting obligations, even where the product was not used in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations; and
• businesses are not required to verify allegations or obtain medical evidence before reporting.

How safety reporting differs from a product recall

Mandatory safety reporting and product recall reporting are distinct obligations under the ACL and should not be conflated. Mandatory safety reporting is dealt with under Division 5 of the ACL, whereas product recalls, including notification to the ACCC, are dealt with under Division 3 of the ACL.

Businesses should keep in mind that the two concepts operate independently. Mandatory safety reporting responds to a death, serious injury or serious illness that has already occurred, while a product recall can either respond to harm that has occurred or an identified risk that has not yet materialised. It may be the case that a mandatory safety report may be lodged without any product recall following, or that a product recall notification to the ACCC occurs without any death, serious injury or serious illness arising. Where an obligation for businesses to comply with both arises from the same facts, businesses should treat mandatory safety reporting and product recall notification to the ACCC as separate obligations.

Further, the New Guidelines encourage, but do not legally require, voluntary reporting of near misses that could have resulted in death, serious injury or serious illness, either because no harm eventuated (though it could have in slightly different circumstances) or because any injury or illness that did occur fell short of the ‘serious’ threshold (for example, because it did not require medical or surgical treatment). If no death, serious injury or serious illness occurs, neither the mandatory reporting obligation nor a recall obligation is triggered by a near miss alone. The ACCC’s rationale for encouraging voluntary reporting in these circumstances is that it allows early identification of hazards before they cause the harm that would otherwise make reporting mandatory (for example, a portable charger that caused a house fire with no one injured would not require a mandatory report but is an incident that carries the potential to cause death or serious injury if it recurred). This position reflects the ACCC’s broader expectation of proactive conduct, which extends to online marketplaces or businesses providing a product-related service that was not connected to the incident.

Key takeaways for businesses

The New Guidelines do not introduce new legal obligations. Rather, they reinforce the ACCC’s expectation that businesses adopt a broad and proactive approach to identifying and reporting product-related deaths, serious injuries and serious illnesses. Businesses should review their product safety, complaints handling and incident escalation processes to ensure potential reportable incidents are identified and escalated promptly.

How can we help?

We have a dedicated Consumer Law team and Product Liability, Recalls and Advisory group that can assist you with understanding your obligations in the case of a product recall. Please contact us if you would like more information about the services we provide.

This article was written by Teresa Torcasio, Partner, and Mason Fennessy-Kent, Associate.