Product Liability, Safety and Recalls in Consumer & Retail
Australian product liability litigation is on the rise and regulators are more focused than ever on compliance and consumer safety. These trends are driven by heightened public awareness of their consumer rights, a sustained rise in litigation funding and active enforcement priorities.
The ACCC exercises its product safety powers actively, with demanding reporting thresholds and close oversight of recall decisions. Navigating a recall or other product safety issue with the ACCC requires careful legal judgment working in close conjunction with operational, regulatory and reputational considerations.
We advise manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers across the full product safety lifecycle - from compliance and risk audits to mandatory reporting, recall execution and related litigation. We understand that product incidents are not simply legal events - they are operational, regulatory and reputational challenges requiring coordinated response.
We assist clients to:
Assess safety defect risk and reporting obligations
Conduct voluntary and compulsory recalls
Engage with the ACCC and specialist regulators
Manage crisis response and communications strategy
Defend product liability claims and class actions
Coordinate regulatory, insurance and litigation strategy
Our product liability experience spans a wide range of products including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health technology, consumer health, chemicals, motor vehicles, consumer electronics, toys, sporting goods, food, homewares and financial products.
Experience
Philips Healthcare
Advised Philips in connection with the Australian implementation of its voluntary global recall of certain CPAP and BiPAP devices for the treatment of sleep apnoea. Also acting for Philips to defend both a consumer product class action as well as regulatory proceedings brought by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Volkswagen
Acted for Volkswagen in the successful defence of the Takata airbag class action in the NSW Supreme Court, and in securing the unanimous dismissal of the appeal by the Court of Appeal. The proceedings arose from the global Takata airbag recall, one of the largest automotive recalls in history, affecting an estimated 100 million vehicles worldwide.
Toy Manufacturer
Advised on a cross-border product recall arising from suspected lead contamination, coordinating regulatory engagement and response strategies across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Global Battery Manufacturer
Advising a leading battery manufacturer on Australian product safety and consumer law issues in connection with recalls for home batteries. This includes advising on dealings with the ACCC and electrical safety regulators and an associated enforceable undertaking.
Global Consumer Electronics Company
Acted for a market-leading Silicon Valley consumer electronics manufacturer in defending multiple product liability proceedings in the County Court of Victoria arising from alleged product defects and personal injury claims.
Global Diversified Industrial Manufacturer
Acted on the recall of multiple consumer products presenting potential safety risks in Australia and New Zealand. Advised on regulatory engagement, recall strategy and the design and implementation of a business-to-business remediation scheme for affected products.
Major Pharmaceutical Companies
Advise on product recall of consumer products for major pharmaceutical companies, including providing advice on regulatory engagement with the ACCC and TGA, recall strategy and coordination of consumer communications.
Major National Retailer
Acted in litigation brought by the ACCC in relation to misleading conduct and representations relating to the sale of five consumer products sold through a national discount department store chain, which were subject to voluntary recall action and reports of product injury. This litigation was also preceded by significant regulatory investigation and regulatory engagement.
Bayer
Acted for Bayer in a major product liability class action concerning the Essure contraceptive device. Following a 12-week trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Court dismissed the representative plaintiff's claim and determined all common liability issues in Bayer's favour, resulting in a rare complete defence victory in Australian class action litigation.
