Representations about country of origin

A business can´t make false or misleading representations about the country of origin of goods.

This includes:

´made in´ a specific country
´product of´ or ´produced in´ a specific country
use of a logo that identifies a place of originclaiming that ingredients or components were ´grown in´ a specific country.

´Made in´ claims

For a business to claim goods are ´made in´ a particular country:

the goods must be substantially transformed (a fundamental change in the goods´ appearance, operation or purpose) in that country
50 per cent or more of the cost of producing or manufacturing the goods must be incurred in that country.

For a business to claim goods are ´produced in´, ´produce of´ or a ´product of´ a particular country:

virtually all of the production or manufacturing processes must happen in that country
all of the significant ingredients or components must come from that country.

If a business labels a product with a prescribed logo (e.g. the ´Made in Australia´ brand), the goods must:

have been substantially transformed
meet the prescribed percentage of production or manufacturing costs that apply for that logo.

A business can lawfully claim goods are ´grown in´ a particular country when:

at least 50 per cent of the total weight comprises ingredients or components grown and processed in that country
virtually all production or manufacturing processes happened in that country
each significant ingredient or significant component was grown and processed only in that country.

Last reviewed 25/11/2011