{"id":"F2017L01662","name":"Consumer Goods (Swimming and Flotation Aids) Safety Standard 2017","slug":"consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439431,"registerId":"F2017L01662-fast-fetch-1775955460902","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Consumer Goods (Swimming and Flotation Aids) Safety Standard 2017","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nConsumer Goods (Swimming and Flotation Aids) Safety Standard 2017\n\nI, Michael McCormack, Minister for Small Business, make the following safety standard.\n\nDated 14 December 2017\n\nMichael McCormack\n\nMinister for Small Business\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Basic requirements\n\n6 Requirements during transitional period\n\n7 Requirements after transitional period\n\nPart 3—Details of requirements\n\n8 Australian/New Zealand Standard requirements\n\n9 Requirements of Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nConsumer Product Safety Standard for Swimming Aids and Flotation Aids for Water Familiarisation and Swimming Tuition (Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009) (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2009L01476)\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Consumer Goods (Swimming and Flotation Aids) Safety Standard 2017.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after this instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 104(1) of the Australian Consumer Law.\n\nNote: The reference to the Australian Consumer Law is a reference to Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as it applies as a law of the Commonwealth, States and Territories: see section 140K of that Act and corresponding provisions of Acts of States and Territories applying that Schedule.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAustralian/New Zealand Standard means Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1900:2014 Flotation aids for water familiarization and swimming tuition, as in force on the commencement of this instrument.\n\nNote: The Australian/New Zealand Standard could in 2017 be purchased from SAI Global’s website (https://www.saiglobal.com). The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission can make a copy of the standard available for viewing at one of its offices, subject to licensing conditions.\n\nflotation aid means an article:\n\n (a) designed for children under 14 years of age; and\n\n (b) to be worn on or attached to the user’s body, or sat in by the user, for the purpose of enabling them to gain confidence through water familiarisation, or to assist them in acquiring unaided buoyancy through swimming tuition; and\n\n (c) that is not any of the following:\n\n (i) a flotation toy;\n\n (ii) an unattached flotation device;\n\n (iii) an article designed only for therapeutic use;\n\n (iv) an article designed for use by disabled persons;\n\n (v) a personal flotation device for use in boating or other recreational water activities.\n\ntransitional period means the period of 24 months beginning on the day this instrument commences.\n\nPart 2—Basic requirements\n\n \n\n6  Requirements during transitional period\n\n (1) During the transitional period, a flotation aid must comply with the requirements in any of the following:\n\n (a) section 8;\n\n (b) section 9.\n\n (2) This section is repealed at the end of the last day of the transitional period.\n\n7  Requirements after transitional period\n\n  After the transitional period, a flotation aid must comply with the requirements in section 8.\n\nPart 3—Details of requirements\n\n \n\n8  Australian/New Zealand Standard requirements\n\n (1) A flotation aid complies with the requirements in this section if the flotation aid complies with the Australian/New Zealand Standard, as affected by subsections (2) to (5).\n\n (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Australian/New Zealand Standard is varied by replacing the first paragraph of clause 1.1 with the following:\n\nThis Standard specifies requirements for swimming aids:\n\n (a) designed for children under 14 years of age; and\n\n (b) to be worn on or attached to the user’s body, or sat in by the user, for the purpose of enabling them to gain confidence through water familiarisation, or to assist them in acquiring unaided buoyancy through swimming tuition.\n\n (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Australian/New Zealand Standard is varied by replacing clause 1.4.1 with the following:\n\n1.4.1  Flotation aid\n\nAn article:\n\n (a) designed for children under 14 years of age; and\n\n (b) to be worn on or attached to the user’s body, or sat in by the user, for the purpose of enabling them to gain confidence through water familiarisation, or to assist them in acquiring unaided buoyancy through swimming tuition.\n\n (4) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Australian/New Zealand Standard is varied by omitting the following clauses:\n\n (a) clause 1.4.3;\n\n (b) clause 2.1.1.\n\n (5) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Australian/New Zealand Standard is varied by omitting the following from clause 2.8:\n\nFailure or deflation of any chamber shall not affect the security of fit of the aid, as required by Clause 2.1.1.\n\n9  Requirements of Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009\n\n (1) A flotation aid complies with the requirements in this section if the flotation aid complies with the Consumer Product Safety Standard for Swimming Aids and Flotation Aids for Water Familiarisation and Swimming Tuition (Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009), as in force immediately before the commencement of this instrument.\n\nNote: The Consumer Product Safety Standard for Swimming Aids and Flotation Aids for Water Familiarisation and Swimming Tuition (Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009) could in 2017 be viewed on the Federal Register of Legislation website (https://www.legislation.gov.au).\n\n (2) This section is repealed at the end of the last day of the transitional period.\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nConsumer Product Safety Standard for Swimming Aids and Flotation Aids for Water Familiarisation and Swimming Tuition (Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009) (Federal Register of Legislation No. F2009L01476)\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\nNote: Under item 4 of Schedule 7 to the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act (No. 2) 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Standard for Swimming Aids and Flotation Aids for Water Familiarisation and Swimming Tuition (Consumer Protection Notice No 3 of 2009) continued in force from the start of 1 January 2011 as if it were a safety standard made under section 104 of the Australian Consumer Law (because it was taken under section 65E of the Trade Practices Act 1974 to be a prescribed consumer product safety standard for the purposes of section 65C of that Act immediately before 1 January 2011).\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original scope. It replaces the 2009 standard with the 2014 standard while keeping the same product coverage (flotation aids for children under 14). The transitional arrangements are a standard regulatory technique for implementation, not scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporation by reference of external standard (AS/NZS 1900:2014) which is not freely available—must be purchased from SAI Global","Multiple variations to the incorporated standard (4 specific modifications in section 8)","Transitional period creates dual compliance pathways for 24 months","Repeal mechanism with automatic sunset clause for transitional provisions","Cross-reference to repealed 2009 Consumer Protection Notice and its legislative history under previous Trade Practices Act","Nested definitions: 'flotation aid' defined in legislation, then redefined with variations in the incorporated standard"],"plain_english_summary":"This law updates safety rules for children's flotation aids (floaties, swim rings, similar devices), replacing the 2009 standard with a revised 2014 Australian/New Zealand Standard (with modifications). It requires all such products sold in Australia to meet the new standard after a 24‑month transition.\n\nIt affects manufacturers, importers, and retailers of swimming aids for under‑14s and aims to reduce drowning and injury risks from poor design, buoyancy failure, or inadequate warnings."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument replaces the 2009 Consumer Product Safety Standard with a modified incorporation of AS/NZS 1900:2014 (section 8) and repeals the old notice (Schedule 1). During a 24‑month transitional period suppliers may comply with either the old or the varied new standard (sections 6 and 9), after which only the varied AS/NZS 1900:2014 applies. The variations (section 8(2)–(5)) and clause omissions narrow or alter technical requirements and therefore change the regulatory obligations suppliers must follow."},"complexity_factors":["Dependency on an external technical standard (AS/NZS 1900:2014) incorporated by reference rather than reproduced in full (definition of Australian/New Zealand Standard; section 8(1)).","Variations to the incorporated standard implemented by targeted replacements and omissions (section 8(2)–(5)), which require users to compare two documents to determine obligations.","24‑month transitional regime allowing compliance with either the new varied standard or the old 2009 standard (transitional period defined in section 5; sections 6 and 9), creating dual compliance pathways temporarily.","Full repeal of the 2009 consumer protection notice (Schedule 1), so obligations shift from one instrument to another at a fixed date.","Narrow, technical definition of 'flotation aid' with multiple exclusions (section 5), which affects product scope and may require manufacturers to classify products precisely.","Access/licensing issue: the referenced standard is purchasable from a commercial publisher and only viewable under licence at ACCC offices (note to definition), imposing an implicit cost to verify compliance details.","Omission of specific clauses (clause 1.4.3 and clause 2.1.1) and removal of a safety sentence in clause 2.8 (section 8(4)–(5)), creating potential interpretive uncertainty about performance expectations.","Legal authority and enforcement are anchored to the Australian Consumer Law (section 3), linking this instrument to broader ACL compliance and enforcement regimes."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets mandatory safety requirements for flotation aids for children under 14, replacing the 2009 standard. For 24 months suppliers may meet either the old 2009 standard or the varied Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1900:2014; after that only the varied AS/NZS 1900:2014 applies. Suppliers and importers must ensure product design, testing and documentation meet the referenced standard to sell these aids."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017","history":"/api/acts/consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/consumer-goods-swimming-and-flotation-aids-safety-standard-2017/documents"}}