Home > Businesses > Business rights and responsibilities > Product safety > Second-hand goods

Second-hand goods

All goods, whether new or second-hand, should be safe for their intended purpose. Second-hand goods, either sold privately or from a second-hand shop, may not be as safe as the new product.

Many goods must comply with mandatory safety standards, even when they are second-hand. For a list of these products, see products with mandatory standards.

These include full size household cots, bean bags, folding laundry trolleys, toys for children under three, projectile toys, children’s nightwear, flotation toys, child restraints for vehicles, sunglasses, exercise cycles, road bicycles, portable fire extinguishers, portable motor vehicle ramps, motorcycle helmets, bicycle helmets, trolley jacks, vehicle jacks and vehicle support standards.

Before selling

Before you sell second-hand goods, ask these questions about the product:

Is it missing any safety instructions or warnings? This is especially important for cots, child restraints, electrical items, car jacks, trolley jacks and vehicle stands because the information supplied will help consumers use the goods safely.
Is it obviously damaged or are parts missing? The product may have been in an accident and is no longer safe to use, especially bicycles, child restraints, and bicycle and motorcycle helmets.
Does it need any special tools to make it useable that may be difficult to get? For example, most cots need a special type of tool to join the parts together.
Has it been the subject of a safety recall in the past? Check by going to Product Recalls Australia.

What to look for

If you sell privately or through a garage sale, the products may not be covered by safety laws.

Before you sell the product, ask yourself these questions:

If it is an electrical product, does it have a testing tag? Electrical tags show whether the product has been safety tested.
Does the metal product show corrosion. This could indicate a larger problem.
Are spare parts available for the product? Some products sold through second-hand shops are so old that spare parts are no available. This is a problem for products with moving parts that will wear down, such as strollers and electrical items.
Are any of the product’s safety features missing, such as guards on exercise bikes and power tools, brakes on bikes and safety instructions?

Last reviewed 04/09/2009