Consumer watchdog  finds 90 per cent of furniture suppliers had one or more products which failed to include mandatory warnings

 

Most furniture suppliers are failing to comply with new mandatory information rules that warn customers of the dangers of furniture tipping over. 

 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in conjunction with state and territory consumer protection agencies highlighted the situation after examining more than 3000 furniture products at more than 160 businesses.

 

Of those businesses, 90 per cent were non-compliant with the mandatory toppling furniture information standard in relation to one or more of their products and more than half were non-compliant in relation to all products examined.

 

Toppling furniture has killed at least 28 people in Australia since 2000 and causes nearly 20 injuries every week. The mandatory information standard, which came into effect on 4 May 2025, aims to reduce accidents and deaths due to furniture tipping over.

 

Only 10 per cent of businesses were assessed as fully compliant with the mandatory information standard requirements.

 

Black Friday deceptive ads crack-down

 

Meantime, the ACCC will conduct a Black Friday sales sweep to identify misleading or deceptive sales advertising used by retailers.

 

The sweep will focus on a range of sales advertising tactics used by retailers. 

 

This includes misleading limited time representations that create a false sense of urgency for consumers, misleading ‘site-wide’ or ‘store-wide’ claims about sales, and claims of ‘up to X% off’, where few products are on sale at X% off.

 

“We are putting retailers on notice to review their sales advertising practices to ensure that any sales or discount claims they make are accurate, clear, and not likely to mislead or deceive consumers,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

 

The ACCC sweep will focus on a range of conduct, including:

IMAGE: Consumer Reports