Consumer Goods (Care Labelling) Information Standard 2023
- Citation
- F2023L01187
- Jurisdiction
- AU
- Made by
- Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services
- Instrument
- Regulation
- Status
- In force
What it requires (3 obligations)
Regulated goods must comply with either the requirements in section 11, which apply the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1957:1998 Textiles—Care labelling as varied by that section, or the requirements in section 12, which apply Clause 4 of ISO 3758:2012 Textiles—Care labelling code using symbols. The two routes are alternatives and a compliant article need satisfy only one.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Apparel, home textiles, textiles, mattresses, upholstery, leather, fur
- Markets
- AU
- Entry into force
- 2025-03-05
Section 6 defines regulated goods as any clothing, household textiles, apparel including wedding dresses, christening gowns and promotional, sample and flawed articles, furnishings, upholstered furniture, bedding including sleeping bags, mattresses, bed bases, piece goods and yarns made from textiles, plastics, plastic coated fabrics, suede, skins, hides, grain leathers or furs. Section 7 lists ten classes of exempt goods, among them all second-hand goods, all footwear other than hosiery and the textile materials used in making footwear, all jute products, and all bags and cases. The date given here is computed rather than stated: section 2 commences the instrument on 5 September 2023, section 5 defines the first transitional period as six months from commencement and the second as twelve months from the day after the first ends, so section 10 governs from 5 March 2025. Sections 8 and 9, which allowed the repealed 2010 notice as a third route during those periods, each provide for their own repeal at the end of the period they govern. The instrument sets the content of the standard. What follows from supplying goods that do not meet it sits in the Australian Consumer Law, which is Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and is not part of this instrument.
Drafted from section 10, with the two routes named at sections 11 and 12 and the goods defined at section 6.
Under the Australian/New Zealand Standard route, care instructions must take into account all elements of an article, including dyes, finishes, fibres, construction, design, zips, buttons, fasteners, padding, lace, beading, trims, decals, linings, interfacings and embroidery that form an integral part of it, and must give cleaning instructions together with maintenance instructions where these are needed so that following them does not damage the article. The wording of the label must be in English and clearly legible.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Apparel, home textiles, textiles
- Markets
- AU
- Entry into force
- 2025-03-05
Where an article cannot be washed or drycleaned, the substituted Clause 2.1.3 at subsection (6) requires the permanent label to carry instructions in words that warn of this and adequately describe the care treatment. The new Clause 2.5 added by subsection (13) names classes of made-up goods exempt from carrying a permanent label, including hosiery, gloves, bibs, washable nappies, tea towels, place mats, shower curtains and small haberdashery, for which care instructions may instead be given on a removable ticket, an accompanying pamphlet or printed on the packaging. Section 11 varies the standard in eighteen subsections and the register entry records the ones that state duties rather than editorial omissions. The standard itself is not published by the Commonwealth and is sold by its publishers. The instrument sets the content of the standard. What follows from supplying goods that do not meet it sits in the Australian Consumer Law, which is Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and is not part of this instrument.
Drafted from section 11, subsections (3) and (9), which substitute Clauses 2.1.1(a) and 2.2(c) of AS/NZS 1957:1998.
Under the International Standard route, regulated goods comply if they comply with Clause 4 of ISO 3758:2012 Textiles—Care labelling code using symbols, as that standard was in force at the time this instrument commenced.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Apparel, home textiles, textiles
- Markets
- AU
- Entry into force
- 2025-03-05
The definition at section 5 fixes the edition as the one in force or existing when the instrument commenced, so a later revision of ISO 3758 is not picked up automatically. The note to section 12 points to Annex C of that standard for examples of additional wording that can accompany the symbols. The instrument sets the content of the standard. What follows from supplying goods that do not meet it sits in the Australian Consumer Law, which is Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and is not part of this instrument.
Drafted from section 12 and the definition of International Standard at section 5.
This is a register, not advice. It records what an instrument says and when it applies. Whether it applies to a particular company, product or shipment is a question for somebody who knows that business, and the answer is frequently not what the summary above would suggest.
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