Australian Toy Standards As/nzs Iso8124

Let’s have a look at AUSTRALIAN TOY STANDARDS AS/NZS ISO8124.

It is wonderful to meet parents, grandparents and children when I do markets throughout the Perth metropolitan area. I get to meet some fantastic people, showcase the range and see what appeals to adults and kids alike. I love to demonstrate how the toy can be played with, talk about the developmental benefits of each toy and how they can be used in conjunction with other toys. Most people make considered choices based on what their child already has, the age recommendation on the toy, cost and what will benefit their child the most.

One thing that I mention is that all of our toys come from Australian manufacturers or distributors that are well established in the Australian toy industry. They supply quality toys which comply with Australian Toy Standards, and have safety testing certificates visible on their websites.

Toys are meant to be educational and fun to play with. They can also be dangerous. According to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne there were 2,843 cases of toy-related injury to children aged 0-5 years presenting to Victorian hospital emergency departments from January 2002 to December 2007. An estimated 4 children per week in Australia present to an emergency department with a serious button battery related injury, after swallowing these small batteries.

The ACCC regulates the mandatory AUSTRALIAN TOY STANDARDS AS/NZS ISO8124 with regular reviews and publication of toy recalls. According to the Australian Toy Association regulations are in place to cover things like the shape, size and strength of the toy (including risk of small parts), toys with projectiles & the requirements for migrateable amounts of certain elements such as lead in toys.

There has been a lot of media interest in the safety of toys manufactured in China. According to this article in The Telegraph up to one in three toys in China contain excessive amounts of lead. This is why I only sell toys from well established distributors that have test certificates visible on their websites and have labels showing that they adhere to Australian Toy Standards.

More help with toy safety is available from the ACCC or your local Dept of Commerce. You are also welcome to contact me sue@ilovewoodentoys.com.au should you need any assistance with toy safety, or any other query.

Cheers