Warning notification for toys, stationery and asbestos-containing products to Australia

On 7 April 2016, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) publishes Warning Notification No. 10 of Year 2016 concerning toys, stationery and asbestos-containing products intended to export to Australia. In the notification, it requires heavy metals and asbestos may present in the products should comply with restrictions of Australia.
 
Upon receipt of Australian Border Force’s (ABF) notification on some articles on 15 December 2015, AQSIQ validated technical requirements for toys, creative erasers, pencils and paintbrushes, money boxes and asbestos-containing building materials as the following:
 
1. Pursuant to the stipulations set forth in AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2003 concerning safety of toys, toy coatings (e.g. paints and pigments), coatings of food-favored or shaped erasers, pencils and paintbrushes are forbidden for import if heavy metals are present in the products exceeding the following limits: 90mg/kg of lead, 60mg/kg of arsenic, 75mg/kg of cadmium, 500mg/kg of selenium, 60mg/kg of mercury, 60mg/kg of chromium, 1,000mg/kg of barium.
 
2. Pursuant to the stipulations set forth in AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2003 concerning toys, money boxes in which lead is present more than 90mg/kg cannot be imported.
 
3. In accordance with entry 4c and table 3B in Rules on Forbidden Import Items by Customs in 1965, the import of asbestos and asbestos-containing products is banned without permission, but businesses can apply for import permit or special approval. Australia strengthens its regulation on imported building materials posing a high risk of asbestos. Random inspection among products that may contain asbestos is underway. Businesses importing unauthorised asbestos-containing products will be prosecuted for criminal liability by ABF and their products will be detained.
 
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) comes up with opinions and guidance to Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection that dangerous levels of lead and other heavy metals would threaten human health. For instance, serious hazard is posed when children bite, lick or mistakenly eat toys, food-favored or shaped erasers, pencils and paintbrushes, money boxes during use. It deserves special notice that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic and any contact of asbestos can present great risk of pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary plaque, mesothelioma, hydrothorax, lung cancer, laryngocarcinoma and oophoroma. So ABF strengthens its regulation on the import of the aforesaid products.
 
Meanwhile, ABF requires importers or customs brokers product provide certifications for safe content of heavy metals or asbestos-free certification. Importers or customs brokers should also provide test reports issued by member of International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and also accredited by national authorities. With no such test reports, ABF will randomly obtain some samples and send them to the NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities)-accredited labs for testing with testing and storage fees borne by importers. China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) corresponds to NATA.
 
Businesses to export their products to Australia shall attach great importance to the news. Where ABF finds any violation concerning the foregoing items, it is of high likelihood that products may be detained or destroyed. Even worse, follow-up products of the same supplier may be listed by enforcement department as key objectives to check on. C&K Testing advises businesses to take prompt measures to deal with relevant requirements to avoid unnecessary losses.