A Thomas the Tank Engine train, a Minion toy rifle and 45 other dangerous toys will be destroyed on Wednesday as part of an annual product safety blitz.
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The NSW Minister responsible for Fair Trading Victor Dominello said there were "no apologies" for the annual pre-Christmas blitz, which saw NSW Fair Trading inspectors visit 746 businesses and inspect 10,727 individual products.
"Thomas the Tank Engine, Winnie the Pooh and Pikachu toys might look adorable, but if they're non-compliant and unsafe, we must act to protect consumers," said Mr Dominello.
NSW Fair trading has been running the crackdown for 15 years. The program has seen a decline in non-compliant toys seized since 2014 when 95 dangerous toys were destroyed.
"The team found 47 non-compliant and dangerous toys sold in retailers across the state [this year], significantly lower than last year's 83 toys," said Mr Dominello.
Consumer advocacy group Choice, which worked with Fair Trading, said the decline was because of Fair Trading's efforts in educating retailers about standards and ensuring cheap toys that enter the market are safe.
"The critical thing is that any non-compliant toys don't find their way into the hands of young kids because often they are very appealing as stocking fillers as they tend to be cheaper," said Choice's spokesman Tom Godfrey.
Choice experts put toys suspected of being unsafe to a variety of tests, including drop tests, tension tests, small-parts tests and toys failed if parts of them "fell off" and if those parts were small enough for children to swallow or inhale.
"We're looking to ensure that button batteries are properly encased ... so that little fingers can't find their way in because a button battery looks very appealing to a young child, it looks a lot like a lolly," said Mr Godfrey.
A battery-operated Thomas the Tank Engine train and a Winnie the Pooh Light Up Musical Toy failed the tests because their battery compartment covers could have been opened using just fingertips despite being secured with a screw.
Other toys such as an Angry Bird toy that lays eggs, a Paw Patrol cartoon truck, squeaky spiky balls and mini pianos failed for having choking hazards.
Three aquatic toys were seized including an inflatable frog with flashing eyes, an inflatable swimming vest and an inflatable swimming ring because they were classified as having potential drowning risks.
According to Fair Trading, individuals caught selling dangerous toys face a maximum fine of $220,000 while companies can face fines of up to $1.1 million.
Consumers who have unknowingly purchased an unsafe toy are entitled to a full refund of the purchase price otherwise they should dispose of the toy immediately.
The full list
- Shark Raid Car No.HD 990
- Thomas Light-up Train
- Paw Patrol Cartoon Truck No.767-588
- Winnie the Pooh Light Up Musical
- Thomas & Friends Take Along
- Future Star Loveable Duck
- Angry Bird Egg Laying Bird
- Pokemon Go Car
- Air H2O Blaster
- Squadra Atineedio Fire Truck
- Pokemon Go Pikachu Buggy
- Despicable Me 2 Light toy No.2028
- Paw Patrol Fire Truck No.XZ-348
- Minion Toy Car
- Yellow Transformer Car
- Play Together Air Bus
- Spongebob Squarepants Car
- Frozen Cartoon Electric Piano
- Minion Dave No.1
- Century New Truck
- Thomas Flash Electric Train
- Despicable Me Bump & Go Car
- Power Shoot archery set
- Despicable Me 2 Rifle
- Intex Pool Swim Vest
- 24" swim ring
- Inflatable frog balloon with flashing eyes
- Panahan Bow & Arrow kit
- Light Up Train
- Light up spikey squeaky balls
- Light up spikey squeaky footballs
- Light up spikey squishy ball
- Pink & Yellow mini piano
- Push back mouse
- Squishy tiger with pop out eyes
- Raytheon Phantom Soft Bullet Pistol
- Raytheon Phantom Soft Bullet Gun
- Pink Octopus musical toy
- Funny Toys Super Plane
- Bag of bathtub ducks
- Large rattles
- Pink Super Shark
- Plastic Panda Aeroplane
- Light up toy dog
- Battery Operated Frog
- Red Fire Truck
- Green Army Tank
