Product Liability
Protecting your products, your reputation, and your bottom line.
Overview
We are a leading Australian legal adviser in product liability, product safety, regulatory compliance and risk management. For over 30 years, we have acted in some of Australia’s most high-profile and complex matters, supporting clients across the healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical device, automotive, and consumer products sectors.
Our expertise spans the full spectrum of product risk - from advising on safety, compliance and recall strategy through to defending major litigation. We understand how to manage relationships with regulators on critical product issues, managing cross-border exposures, and guiding clients through the complexities of follow-on litigation.
We advise some of the world’s most recognised consumer brands on product liability, Australian Consumer Law and complex disputes. Our support extends across the entire product lifecycle, from development and market entry to incident response and litigation. We focus on practical, forward-looking solutions and help clients protect their business and reputation — including in relation to emerging risks associated with digital and AI-enabled products.
How we can help
Regulatory compliance and advisory
Strategic advice on product safety, mandatory standards, electrical safety obligations, labelling, marketing, pricing and broader risk management.
Investigations and regulator engagement
Supporting regulatory inquiries, defending enforcement actions and leading negotiations to resolve issues efficiently and minimise escalation.
Product recalls and risk management
End-to-end guidance on recall strategy, risk assessments and regulator engagement to ensure compliance and protect brand integrity.
Litigation and dispute resolution
Defence of product liability claims, class actions and consumer law disputes, with a focus on early strategy and efficient resolution.
Market conduct and consumer law
Advice on misleading or deceptive conduct, advertising standards, and compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act (including the Australian Consumer Law), Privacy Act, Spam Act and Do Not Call Register Act.
Regulated industries
Advice about the specialised regulatory regimes which apply to products such as medicines and medical devices and motor vehicles, as well as the approach to engaging with the responsible regulators.
Cross-border and supply chain risk
Managing global product liability exposure, supplier and distribution arrangements, and coordinated international responses.
Complex technical matters
Deep experience in matters involving complex engineering, scientific and medical issues, including coordinating and leveraging expert evidence.
"The products liability and class action practice at Clayton Utz is highly experienced. They have been involved in major class actions in Australia, usually ones that derive in the US and then pass into other jurisdictions. A client who wants to fight and win the class action will get highly experienced lawyers with proven results.’"
– Legal 500 - Dispute Resolution: Class Actions
Recognition
Band 1, Life Sciences - Chambers Asia Pacific
Ranked Tier 1, Product Liability - Best Lawyers
Ranked as an Elite Global Thought Leader across Product Regulation & Liability, Product Liability Defence, and Healthcare and Life Sciences categories - Lexology
"The team has one of the leading practices in Australia. In particular, their product liability team is unparalleled in their expertise, experience, strategic thinking, and implementation. They are very client focused, but not at the expense of their litigation strategy."
– Legal 500 - Dispute Resolution: Class Actions
Experience
Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences
We defend major pharmaceutical companies in high-stakes product liability litigation and class actions. Our clients include Bayer, for whom we achieved a complete defence in a Supreme Court of Victoria class action regarding the Essure contraceptive device, one of the few successful defences in Australian class action history, and Allergan (an AbbVie company), which we represent a class action regarding macro-textured breast implants and related recalls.
Medical Devices & Health Technology
We support leading medical device and health technology companies across product liability disputes, regulatory investigations, and class actions. This includes acting for Philips Healthcare in a class action relating to CPAP and BiPAP devices subject to a global recall, requiring coordinated engagement across jurisdictions and regulators. We bring deep experience at the intersection of litigation, recall strategy, and regulatory compliance.
Automotive
We work with multinational automotive manufacturers including Volkswagen, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Ferrari, Toyota, Hino Motors, Isuzu, Mercedes, and Porsche. Our experience spans class actions, product safety issues, recall strategy, and regulatory engagement across passenger and commercial vehicles.
Consumer Goods
We support leading consumer brands on product safety, regulatory compliance, and risk management. This includes advising clients on the regulatory requirements in relation to a range of fitness trackers and other wearable devices.
Cosmetics
We act for market-leading cosmetics businesses on product safety and regulatory compliance, including engagement with the TGA and AICIS. We provide practical guidance across overlapping regulatory regimes unique to this sector.
Online Retail & E-Commerce
We support online retailers and platform operators in managing product risk and regulatory exposure. This includes assisting a major online retailer in responding to an ACCC investigation involving button batteries and the cross-border application of the Australian Consumer Law, as well as delivering comprehensive risk assessments for platform operators.
Manufacturing
We advise manufacturers and distributors on product safety issues, regulatory compliance, and liability risk. Our experience includes advising manufacturing clients on product failures in service, liability risk assessment, recall strategy, and the design of remediation programs, as well as broader engagement on safety standards and regulator interaction.
Energy & Battery Technology
We advise on product liability and safety risks arising from emerging technologies. This includes supporting a global lithium-ion battery manufacturer on a nationwide recall and engagement with the ACCC and energy regulators across multiple jurisdictions.
Equipment and Product Safety
We assist equipment and tool manufacturers with product recalls, safety incidents, and remediation strategies. This includes acting for a major manufacturer to coordinate a multi-product recall across Australia and New Zealand and implement a business-to-business remediation program.
