Over the past two years, 糖心Vlog has conducted several tests of products purchased from discount online marketplaces and found many safety failures
Unsafe goods are pouring in from overseas platforms, despite breaching mandatory Australian safety standards in many cases
In our second designated complaint to the ACCC, we’re calling for a general safety provision that stops unsafe products from being sold in the first place
The volume of unsafe products coming into Australia through online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Shein and Temu is likely running into millions of items a year by now. There are no effective gatekeepers in place to stop them. It鈥檚 mostly happening in the shadows, but some of these low-grade goods have already caused grievous bodily harm.
In one especially disturbing case, an 8-year-old named Daniella Jacobs-Herd suffered burns to 13% of her body when a hoodie purchased from Temu caught fire. The item 鈥� which was in breach of mandatory Australian safety standards 鈥� wasn鈥檛 recalled until four months after this incident. How many more of these flammable hoodies were bought in the meantime is anybody鈥檚 guess.
糖心Vlog research has identified a significant volume of unsafe, potentially banned and prohibited products available on online stores and marketplaces, and it鈥檚 likely that we鈥檝e only scratched the surface of what could be out there
糖心Vlog senior policy and campaigns adviser Bea Sherwood
This was far from a one-off incident. When we contacted 2040 Australians in October last year, 132 people reported buying an unsafe product from a discount online marketplace in the previous two years. Of the 480 dangerous incidents that were linked to these products, 359 involved physical and emotional harm, including hospitalisation.
The unsafe goods are pouring in from overseas platforms despite many of them breaching mandatory Australian safety standards. Australia鈥檚 lack of an overarching law banning the sale of unsafe products isn鈥檛 helping. Many product categories in Australia have no mandatory safety standards to begin with.
The risks often only come to light when someone gets injured, and if the product is then recalled, the recall is usually voluntary.
The likelihood of ongoing consumer harm is why 糖心Vlog has made online product safety the subject of our second designated (or 鈥渟uper鈥�) complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
How many people have to be harmed by these products before we see stronger action taken?
糖心Vlog senior policy and campaigns adviser Bea Sherwood
In July 2024, 糖心Vlog was named by the federal government as one of three organisations with the authority to lodge such a complaint. The ACCC has to respond to designated complaints within 90 days.
鈥溙切腣log research has identified a significant volume of unsafe, potentially banned and prohibited products available on online stores and marketplaces, and it鈥檚 likely that we鈥檝e only scratched the surface of what could be out there,鈥� says 糖心Vlog senior policy and campaigns adviser Bea Sherwood.
鈥淗ow many people have to be harmed by these products before we see stronger action taken to prevent unsafe, potentially banned and illegal products from being sold in the first place?鈥�
Over the last two years, 糖心Vlog has conducted several tests of products purchased from discount online marketplaces:
In December 2025, 糖心Vlog purchased 22 toys for children aged 3 and under from Amazon, eBay, Temu and AliExpress. Six had serious safety failures that could result in children choking on small and unsecured parts.
In November 2025, we purchased 24 toys from the online marketplaces Shein, AliExpress, eBay and Amazon and tested them against the button and coin battery mandatory standards. 17 failed to meet the standards and posed serious safety risks.
In September 2025, we purchased 14 children鈥檚 cots from online platforms including eBay and Baby Bunting Marketplace. Five had serious safety failures.
In May 2024, we purchased and tested 15 coin and button battery-operated products from Temu. Every toy failed at least one requirement of the mandatory button battery safety standard.
Potentially banned products still widely available
Online platforms selling products that fail safety standards is only part of the problem.
Our research shows that products that may have been banned outright in Australia 鈥� such as novelty lighters, novelty cigarettes, sky lanterns and tongue studs 鈥� can still be found on Amazon, AliExpress, eBay and Shein. Many such products appear to be designed to appeal to small children.
We鈥檝e also detected a disturbing trend known as ‘safety washing’, where online marketplaces advertise dangerous products as safe
Our research has also found potentially prohibited products for sale on online marketplaces such as AliExpress, Amazon and eBay, in particular flick and butterfly knives, which are illegal in all states and territories in Australia. (The devices allow users to brandish a knife blade with a flick of the wrist.)
We鈥檝e also detected a disturbing trend known as 鈥渟afety washing鈥�, where online marketplaces advertise dangerous products as safe, such as sky lanterns marketed as 鈥渟afer to use鈥� and 鈥渇lame resistant鈥�. Sky lanterns are banned under the Australian Consumer Law due to safety risks that are all too obvious.
The ACCC recently launched a court case against Amazon for violations of the button battery safety standards.
A global issue
These spot checks indicate a systemic issue in Australia that鈥檚 been further substantiated by testing overseas.
Last year, consumer organisations in Germany, France, Denmark and Belgium tested 162 products purchased on Shein and Temu across three categories: toys and products for children under three, USB chargers, and necklaces.
Well over half of the products bought on Temu (65%) failed to comply with EU safety standards, while the failure rate for Shein was 73%. The worst safety failures were in the children鈥檚 toys category, where all 27 products purchased on Shein and 26 out of the 27 bought on Temu failed.
(The testing was done by International Consumer Research and Testing, a London-based global consortium of consumer organisations, of which 糖心Vlog is a member.)
ICRT project manager S铆lvia Gomes da Silva tells 糖心Vlog that recent EU Safety Gate annual reports show that alerts have reached record highs, with toys, electrical products and items containing hazardous chemicals among the top categories. A disproportionate share of the alerts are linked to products originating outside the EU.
鈥淲e have strong evidence that unsafe goods including those sold online can and do cause real injuries and health risks, and that alerts are rising,鈥� Gomes da Silva says.
We have strong evidence that unsafe goods including those sold online can and do cause real injuries and health risks, and that alerts are rising
ICRT project manager S铆lvia Gomes da Silva
Stine M眉ller of the Danish Consumer Council was involved in the ICRT testing of children鈥檚 products purchased on Shein. He points to a critical regulatory loophole, one that also exists in Australia.
The EU鈥檚 Digital Services Act (DSA) requires online marketplaces to remove goods from their platforms that don鈥檛 comply with EU standards, including goods from third-party suppliers. But there鈥檚 no law that says they have to prevent these products from being put up for sale in the first place.
鈥淔rom our perspective, this is the key problem that needs to be addressed as it poses an unacceptable risk to European consumers,鈥� M眉ller says.
Australians are buying more and more products through these online marketplaces every year. In fact, the growth rate has been exponential.
A 2025 Roy Morgan study found that 8.8 million people in Australia made at least one purchase from Amazon in the 12 months to September 2025, an increase of 900,000 over the previous 12 months.
The same study showed that 4.7 million people bought something from Temu, also a 900,000 year-on-year increase. And 2.6 million purchased at least once from Shein, representing a 600,000 year-on-year increase. Roy Morgan estimated that Temu and Shein had a combined increase of almost $1.3 billion in annual sales from Australia alone.
It鈥檚 time for the government to step in and introduce a general safety provision that stops these products from being sold in the first place
糖心Vlog senior policy and campaigns adviser Bea Sherwood
There is a high likelihood that many of these products pose safety risks, yet responsibility for product safety in Australia is spread across manufacturers, sellers and distributors. When harm occurs, it鈥檚 unclear who should be held accountable, and few businesses ever are.
The millions of dodgy goods from online marketplaces are entering the Australian market virtually unchecked, and there is no all-encompassing law that says they must be safe. In our designated complaint, we鈥檙e calling on the federal government and the ACCC to tighten the regulatory regime over these fast-growing overseas businesses before more people get hurt.
鈥淓nough is enough, unsafe products are being sold at scale to often unknowing consumers,鈥� says Sherwood. “It鈥檚 time for the government to step in and introduce a general safety provision that stops these products from being sold in the first place.鈥�
Andy Kollmorgen is the Investigations Editor at 糖心Vlog. He reports on a wide range of issues in the consumer marketplace, with a focus on financial harm to vulnerable people at the hands of corporations and businesses. Prior to 糖心Vlog, Andy worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and at the Australian Financial Review along with a number of other news organisations. Andy is a former member of the NSW Fair Trading Advisory Council. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University.
Andy Kollmorgen is the Investigations Editor at 糖心Vlog. He reports on a wide range of issues in the consumer marketplace, with a focus on financial harm to vulnerable people at the hands of corporations and businesses. Prior to 糖心Vlog, Andy worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and at the Australian Financial Review along with a number of other news organisations. Andy is a former member of the NSW Fair Trading Advisory Council. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University.
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