Australia - Update Care Labelling Regulation for Clothing and Textiles

Vol. 1377 | 18 Sep 2023

Recently, the Australian Government introduced a new mandatory Consumer Goods (Care labelling) Information Standard 2023, which replaces the existing “Consumer Protection Notice No 25 of 2010 – Consumer Product Information Standard: Care Labelling for Clothing and Textile Products”.  This new standard became effective on 5 Sept 2023. 

The new standard incorporates the guidelines from Consumer Protection Notice No 25 of 2010, which now form Section 11 of Consumer Goods (Care labelling) Information Standard 2023. This section still refers to the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1957: 1998 Textiles – Care labelling with variations.  The new standard allows clothing and textiles to be labelled in accordance with the AS/NZS 1957: 1998 Textiles – Care labelling with variations, the International Standard ISO 3758: 2012 Textiles – Care labelling Code using symbols or both.

The new mandatory standard for care labelling for clothing and textiles applies to:

• clothing
• household textiles
• furnishings
• piece goods made from textiles
• plastic coated fabrics
• suede skins
• leathers
• furs.

To allow sufficient time for manufacturers to prepare for the change and for consumers in understanding the meaning of the symbols, a transition period is provided per below:

From 5 September 2023 until 4 March 2024, manufacturers must continue to provide a care label written in English, conforming to either:

• Consumer Protection Notice No 25 of 2010; Or
• Section 11 of the Consumer Goods (Care Labelling) Information Standard 2023;

In addition, manufacturers can provide the care symbols according to International Standard ISO 3758: 2012 Textiles – Care labelling Code using symbols if they choose to do so.

From 5 March 2024, manufacturers can choose to provide a care label conforming:

• Section 11 of the Consumer Goods (Care Labelling) Information Standard 2023; Or
• By using care symbols, conforming to the International Standard ISO 3758: 2012 Textiles – Care labelling Code using symbols; Or
• Both of the above.

For more detailed information, please visit the following website: Care labelling for clothing and textiles | Product Safety Australia

If you have further questions, please contact our technical experts Vienna Chow (vienna.chow@intertek.com) or Dicti Wong (dicti.wong@intertek.com).

You can also visit our Global Market Access Knowledge Portal at gma.intertek.com to get up-to-date global compliance information tailored to your needs for 180 product types in over 40 different markets with a few clicks.