Product Risk Insights

23 October 2008

Welcome to the October edition of Product Risk Insights, in which we'll look at:

the draft Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Products - will it make any difference?
protecting your product from unwarranted and inaccurate attacks
ensuring product safety with a compliance program
how Australia compares with the EU when it comes to product liability claims; and
the latest steps in harmonising Australia's consumer protection laws.

The draft Organic Standard - A step forward or more of the same?

By Madeleine Kearney.

Standards Australia recently released the draft Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Products for public comment. Madeleine Kearney explores the implications of this development for industry.

Product disparagement: protecting your product's reputation

By Peter Keel and Jessica Morath.

How can you protect your product from unwarranted and inaccurate attacks? Peter Keel and Jessica Morath set out your possible strategies.

Ensuring product safety: Tricks and traps in AS3806 Compliance

By Randal Dennings and Elise Whalan.

AS3806 is the Australian Standard for compliance programs. Randal Dennings and Elise Whalan look at what it says, and some common tricks and traps in implementing compliance programs in a product safety context.

Product liability and class actions: The litigation leagues table

By Jocelyn Kellam.

How does Australia compare with the EU when it comes to product liability claims? Jocelyn Kellam crunches the numbers and finds out which industry sectors are most at risk, and where.

National consumer protection laws one step closer

By Andrew Morrison, Sara Dennis and Mary Sheargold.

The Council of Australian Governments has now paved the way forward for widespread legislative reform of consumer protection laws, as Andrew Morrison, Sara Dennis and Mary Sheargold report.

Never mind the Bullocks, here's the Sandersons: Costs orders in a product liability context

By Chris Moore.

Multiple defendants are common in product liability cases, posing a problem for courts when it comes time to award costs. How do they do it and what effect does your behaviour have on the process? Chris Moore looks for some answers in a recent case.

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