Consumer Safety

Each year many children and adults are injured as a result of goods that are defective, unsafe or fail to meet prescribed construction, performance and design standards. This topic includes a range of helpful information from product safety recalls to what to look for to decide if products are safe.

Information about current product recalls is avilable from the Product Recalls Australia [Australian Government. The Treasury] website. Information about recalls of therapeutic goods, including drugs and devices, is available from the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Recalls and alerts [Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing] website.

Updated July 2007

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36 Resources Found
Results 1 to 20 displayed.
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Title:   Safety alerts and advisory statements
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Links to safety alerts and advisory statements about medicines and medical devices in Australia.
Date:   Jun 2008
Title:   Report a problem with a therapeutic product
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Links to forms and information for reporting problems with therapeutic goods in Australia.
Date:   Jun 2008
Title:   Media release. Prudent measures to conserve anti-coagulant medicines
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Guidelines for clinicians on prudent measures to manage a potential shortage of anti-coagulant medicines containing the blood thinning agent, heparin, have been issued.
Date:   May 2008
Title:   Product recalls
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Links to consumer-level product recall notices issued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Date:   Apr 2008
Title:   Regulation of complementary medicines
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   This page provides links to resources of relevance to complementary medicines.
Date:   Apr 2008
Title:   Therapeutic Goods Committee (TGC)
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   The Committee advises the Minister on standards for therapeutic goods, including labelling and packaging, and on principles to be observed in the manufacture of therapeutic goods for use in humans.
Date:   Mar 2008
Title:   Uniform recall procedure for therapeutic goods (URPTG)
Publisher:   Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care
Description:   The Uniform Recall Procedure for Therapeutic Goods defines the action to be taken by health authorities and sponsors when therapeutic goods for use in humans, for reasons relating to their quality, safety or efficacy, are to be removed from supply or use, or subject to corrective action.
Date:   Mar 2008
Title:   Trasylol (aprotinin) injection
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   On 6 November 2007, Bayer Australia Ltd announced a worldwide suspension of the supply of Trasylol (aprotinin) injection.
Date:   Nov 2007
Title:   Medicine Recalls
Publisher:   HealthInsite Topic Page
Description:   Links to information about medicine recalls.
Date:   Nov 2007
Title:   Health alert: recall of Lida Daidaihua Slimming Capsules
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   A South Australian company, Mekong Grocery, upon instructions from Australia's medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), is undertaking a consumer level recall of the product Lida Daidaihua Slimming Capsules as it contains an undeclared pharmaceutical ingredient.
Date:   Oct 2007
Title:   Lida Daidaihua Slimming Capsules - consumer alert
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Consumers who have purchased this product are warned not to use it and to consult a medical practitioner if they have taken it and have concerns about their health.
Date:   Oct 2007
Title:   Gas heating - health and safety issues
Publisher:   Better Health Channel
Description:   Gas heaters need to be looked after. An unsafe heater can cause a house fire or pollute your home with dangerous fumes. If you service your heater regularly and use it correctly, it will be safe and economical to run.
Date:   May 2007
Title:   Product Recalls Australia
Publisher:   Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Description:   The site enhances consumer safety by providing current product recall information based on notifications provided to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer.
Date:   Mar 2007
Title:   Fact sheet - Remote control drug infusion devices via data communication interface
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Remotely controlled drug infusion devices introduced to the market after October 2002 should comply with the safety and performance requirements for medical device systems.
Date:   Oct 2006
Title:   ARPANSA - Radioactivity in lantern mantles
Publisher:   Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)
Description:   Gas lanterns are a portable light source which burn liquid petroleum gas on a mantle to produce an intense light. Some mantles contain the radioactive element thorium which could present a minimal radiation health hazard. This hazard can be reduced by adopting the basic precautions set out.
Date:   Aug 2006
Title:   Regulation of antibacterial hand washes
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Information on the regulation of antibacterial hand washes in Australia.
Date:   Jun 2006
Title:   Phenylpropanolamine
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Australian consumers may be worried about reports that the US Food and Drug Administration was taking steps to remove phenylpropanolamine from all drug products. In Australia, substantial action to limit the availability of many of the products of concern to the US FDA was taken in 1983.
Date:   Mar 2006
Title:   Australia's Response to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in animals, commonly known as 'Mad Cow Disease'
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Entry to the Department's web pages on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in animals, commonly known as 'Mad Cow Disease', and its links to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans.
Date:   Oct 2005
Title:   Kava fact sheet - April 2005
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   Since 2001, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has closely followed mounting international concerns over reports of hepatotoxicity and deaths from liver failure associated with taking some kava-containing medicines.
Date:   Apr 2005
Title:   TGA general information: regulation of therapeutic goods in Australia
Publisher:   Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Description:   An overview of the regulation of therapeutic goods. Therapeutic goods are explained, the role of the Therapeutic Goods Administration is outlined and the manner in which the control of the supply of therapeutic goods is exercised is discussed.
Date:   Apr 2005
Results 1 to 20 displayed.
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