On June 30, 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Goods Commission (ACCC) published a notice entitled "Supplier Bulletin – Lead and Certain Elements in Children's Toys and Finger Paints." In the notice, based on statutory standards that came into effect on January 1, 2010, the ACCC outlined acceptable levels of lead and certain elements in children's toys and finger paints, and recognized EN 71-3, ISO 8124.3, or AS/NZS ISO 8124.3 and EN 71-7 as standards for compliance testing.
The announcement outlines the hazards of lead and other elements in children's toys and finger paints, as well as the responsibilities that suppliers should fulfill in accordance with the aforementioned legal standards.
In addition, the announcement also defines the terms "children's toys" and "finger paints" as follows, and clarifies the applicable age range for children's toys subject to lead and specific element migration limits:
– Children's toys refer to brand-new products intended for play by children under 6 years of age.
– Finger paints refer to colored pastes or gels that children apply to surfaces with their fingers and hands.
The table below lists the acceptable maximum leaching levels of lead and other elements in children's toys and finger paints:
| | element |
| Product (mg/kg) | antimony | arsenic | barium | cadmium | chromium | lead | mercury | selenium |
| Toy content | 60 | 25 | 1000 | 75 | 60 | 90 | 60 | 500 |
| Nail polish content | 10 | 10 | 350 | 15 | 25 | 25 | 10 | 50 |
Effective January 1, 2010, manufacturers must ensure that the leaching levels of lead and other elements in their products do not exceed the levels specified in the legal standards for children's toys and finger paints sold in the Australian market. Furthermore, the leaching levels of lead and other elements in children's toys supplied to the Australian market must not exceed the levels specified in AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2003, and the leaching levels of lead and other elements in finger paints supplied to the Australian market must not exceed the levels specified in Clause 4.4 of AS 8124.7-Element 2003.
For toy suppliers, the ACCC recognizes that many suppliers have tested the leaching levels of lead and other elements in children's toys according to the following standard, rather than AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2003:
– European Standard EN 71–3:1995, Toy Safety Part 3: Leaching of Certain Elements (including 1995 COR 2002 and 1995 AMD1 2000) (EN 71–3:1995)
– ISO 8124.3:1997 or ISO 8124.3:2010, Toy Safety Part 3: Leaching of Certain Elements
The ACCC considers the above standards for testing lead and other elements to be substantially the same as the AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:200 standard. For investigative purposes, the ACCC considers the results of lead and other element leaching tests conducted according to any of these three standards to be of equal validity.
However, this provision is limited to the provisions of EN 71–3:1995, ISO 8124.3:1997, AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2003 or ISO 8124.3:2010.
For finger paint suppliers, the ACCC recognizes that many suppliers have tested the migration levels of lead and other elements in finger paints according to European standard EN 71–7:2002, Toy Safety Part 7: Finger Paints – Requirements and Test Methods (EN 71–7:2002), rather than AS 8124.7–2003.
The ACCC considers EN 71–7:2002 and AS 8124.7–2003 to be substantially the same. For the purposes of this investigation, the ACCC considers the leaching results of lead and other elements, whether conducted under Clause 4.4 of EN 71–7:2002 or Clause 4.4 of AS 8124.7–2003, to be of equal validity.
Suppliers should note that if any children's toys or finger paints fail to meet the above legal standards, the ACCC will prohibit their sale and recall any that have already been sold to consumers.
— Source: Product Safety Bulletin Appendix:Lead and certain elements in children’s toys and finger paints.pdf
