Soccer goal not anchored in place

Unsafe soccer fields – a disappointing update

So. Soccer popularity is at an all time high across Australia. Our women’s soccer team, the Matildas, have gone gangbusters in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The semi final 'crushed all-time television ratings records'. This massive profile…
Dangerous child car seat head strap accessory
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Call for ban on child car seat head strap

4 minute read The forces involved when cars crash are beyond most peoples’ imagination. I remember once seeing a video that showed the impact of a 60kph car crash is comparable to a person falling from a four-storey building. We…
Button battery safety

Button batteries – the most important message

It's international Button Battery Awareness Day on 12 June. The day was set up in the USA by Reese's Purpose, after 17 month-old Reese Hamsmith died from a button battery lodged in her oesophagus. The day is also marked this year by similarly…
ESG and product safety for associations

Product safety, ESG and associations

3 minute read Do you think of product safety as part of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)? ISO 26000 Standard Guidance on Social responsibility includes consumer product safety as a core part of ESG. ESG performance is increasingly…
Soccer goal safety
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Soccer goal safety across Australia

3 minute read I recently took a walk on a warm autumn afternoon, ending up at a local park. Dogs, kids and teenagers were out enjoying the sunshine. But I was dismayed to find, dotted across the park, more than a dozen soccer goals not…
Rattle toy safety

Don’t get rattled with your baby products – Selling safe rattles

Babies are very vulnerable, so any product intended for them must be designed for safety. We all know that, like all toys for kids from birth to 3 years, rattles must not be able to break or have any loose parts that can cause choking.…
BBQ brush
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Wire in your Barbecued Sausage?

It’s summer in Australia and barbecues everywhere are being fired up. There’s always a joke about what’s inside a meat sausage – sometimes euphemistically called a ‘mystery bag’. But even though we’re prepared to take our…
Dementia product design

Well-designed products can help people living with dementia

Imagine if, when you are preparing a meal, you can’t distinguish a plate from the bench that it’s sitting on. Or you go to take a sip of juice, only to realise too late that it’s scalding hot tea. People living with dementia can’t…
Dementia design podcast

Podcast interview with Graeme Samuel AC, Chair of Dementia Australia

Among his many roles, Graeme Samuel is a Professorial Fellow at Monash University’s Business School, and School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine. I worked at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) when Graeme…
Button batteries compliance

Placing product orders for June 2022 – Button battery regulations!

If your business sells consumer goods, you will be placing orders now for June next year. If these products or their accessories include button batteries, they will need to comply with the Australian mandatory safety standards which take…