New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FAIR TRADING ACT 1987 - SECT 42

42 Reference of certain questions to Products Safety Committee

(1) The Minister, or the Director-General with the approval of the Minister, may refer to the Products Safety Committee for consideration any of the following questions:

(a) whether consumer goods of a particular kind supplied in trade or commerce, or a reasonably foreseeable use (or misuse) of any such goods, will or may cause injury to any person,

(b) whether, as a result of the supply of product related services of a particular kind in trade or commerce, any consumer goods, or a reasonably foreseeable use (or misuse) of any such goods, will or may cause injury to any person,

(c) whether a compulsory recall notice in relation to specified consumer goods should be issued,

(d) whether an interim or permanent ban on specified consumer goods or product related services should be imposed,

(e) whether a safety warning notice in relation to specified consumer goods or product related services should be published,

(f) whether any other action should be taken in relation to the supply of consumer goods or product related services.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to goods or services the supply of which is prohibited or regulated by or under an Act specified in Schedule 2 or an Act prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.

(5) The Committee shall consider any such question referred to it and make a report and recommendations to the Minister in relation to the question.

(6) Even if the Committee has not completed consideration of a question, it may, in the interests of public safety, recommend to the Minister the imposition of an interim ban in relation to the goods or services to which the question relates.

(7) The Director-General shall, if requested to do so by the Committee, give to the Committee to enable it to consider a question referred to it:

(a) any information in the possession of the Director-General which relates to the question, and

(b) any other assistance which the Committee may require, and which the Director-General has power to give, in relation to the question.

(8) If a member of the Committee dissents from a decision of the Committee in respect of a question referred to it, the Chairperson shall record in the report a note of that dissent and of any reasons for it.

(9) The Committee, in considering a question referred to it:

(a) may make such investigations as it considers necessary to enable it to make a recommendation with respect to the question,

(b) shall take into account any representations made to it by any person who, in its opinion, has a substantial interest in the subject-matter of the question or by any body which, in its opinion, represents a substantial number of persons who have such an interest, and

(c) unless the Committee does not consider that it is reasonably practicable to do so, shall permit any such person or body to be heard by the Committee, or by a member of the Committee nominated by it for the purpose.

(10) The Committee may determine its own procedure for considering a question referred to it, and in particular may determine:

(a) the extent, if any, to which persons interested or claiming to be interested in the question are allowed to be present or to be heard, either by themselves or by their representatives, or to cross-examine witnesses or otherwise participate in the consideration of the question, and

(b) the extent, if any, to which the Committee shall hold its proceedings in public.

(11) In determining its procedure under subsection (10), the Committee shall act in accordance with Schedule 4 and any general directions which may be given it by the Minister.

(12) For the avoidance of doubt, the Minister may issue an interim ban in relation to consumer goods or product related services:

(a) even if the matter has not been referred to the Products Safety Committee for consideration, or

(b) even if the matter has been referred to the Products Safety Committee for consideration but it has not made its report, or

(c) on the recommendation of the Products Safety Committee, whether or not it has made a report.

(13) The Minister may refer any report or recommendation of the Products Safety Committee made under this section to the Commonwealth Minister (within the meaning of the ACL) for information or if satisfied that the report or recommendation relates to a matter that could be dealt with more appropriately by the Commonwealth Minister.

Note: There are certain powers under the ACL that may only be exercised by the Commonwealth Minister, for example, the imposition of permanent bans and the making of safety standards.