Am I a deemed manufacturer?

Does your company import a product that is manufactured overseas into Australia and then sell it to Australian consumers? Something you might not have considered before is that you could be deemed under the Australian Consumer Law to be the 'manufacturer'. What this means is that if the product is faulty, your business could be held liable. This week on YOU LEGAL TV, I discuss steps that Australian Suppliers of Goods Manufactured by Others can take to reduce this risk. You can also learn more about starting and running a new business in our blog post on  Tips for Australian Suppliers of Goods Manufactured by Others. If there is a topic you would like to feature on an episode of You Legal TV, I would love to hear from you! 

See below for complete transcript of this episode -

Hi, my name is Sarah Bartholomeusz and welcome to You Legal TV.

At You Legal, we help leaders in growing companies make bold decisions in their businesses.

Does your company import something that's manufactured overseas into Australia and sell it to Australian consumers? If it does, then listen up because you might be caught by the deemed importer provisions of the Australian Consumer Law.

Under that law, if you import something that's manufactured overseas and the company that manufactures it for you doesn't have an office in Australia, then your company is deemed the manufacturer.

If anything goes wrong with that product, that is something that you then have to deal with. So, what do you do?

The answer is you deal with it in your contract with that company.

Firstly, you need to look at the indemnity provisions of that contract to make sure that if there's a recall and the items need to be remade, for example, that that company will do that for you at no extra cost.

Secondly, it's very important to look at the insurance provisions that you've got with your insurance company to make sure that if that does happen, it's not financially devastating for your company.

If you have a specific question about this or if you'd like us to look at a contract that you've already entered into and you're not sure of your position, feel free to call me or shoot me an email. Otherwise, I'll see you on our next episode of You Legal TV.

What Should I Do Next?

Contact us if you would like further legal advice on Australian Consumer Law. Our lawyers at You Legal will be happy to assist you in whatever way we can.

* This blog is for general guidance only. Legal advice should be sought before taking action in relation to any specific issues.