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Consumer safety

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The surge of cheap products purchased online has prompted urgent warnings about safety risks.

Safety warning: Don’t let your Temu, Shein purchases burn you

Our online shopping habit is putting us at risk of injury – but new research shows that most Australians don’t care.

  • Jessica Yun

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Button batteries warning as Halloween draws near.

‘Horrifying’: Consumer Protection WA’s warning over Halloween toys

The deaths of three children from ingesting button batteries prompted an investigation by Consumer Protection WA. What the found was alarming.

  • Rebecca Peppiatt
Our devices are powered with chemical-packed batteries that can die or fail in potentially catastrophic ways.

Your phone can suddenly become a fire risk. Here’s what to do.

When your phone is no longer sitting flush in its case, it’s a big, honking sign of danger.

  • Shira Ovide
The cosmetic injectables industry has boomed.

‘Brotox’ and ‘slimming injections’: Thousands of illegal ads spruik cosmetic injectables

Advertising regulations prohibit the use of terms such as wrinkle-reducing injections or colloquial names such as “tox” or “Brotox”. Many industry players advertise regardless.

  • Clay Lucas and Henrietta Cook
Hundreds of customers queued to get into Panda Mart, which is having its products scrutinised and seized by state and federal regulators over product safety.

Panda Mart could face penalties over ‘potentially deadly’ lamps

Customers who bought table lamps from the discount store have been urged to stop using them immediately due to exposed wires that could cause electrocution.

  • Jessica Yun
Three large utes pack into spaces in a city carpark on Thursday.

Mega-car in a mini space: How SUVs are reshaping Australian car parks

A proposal to lengthen parking bays to accommodate enormous vehicles has attracted more than 1200 submissions.

  • Madeleine Heffernan
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Panda Mart has had thousands of potentially dangerous products stripped from its shelves.

Thousands of Panda Mart products seized over safety concerns

The popular discount store has had thousands of potentially hazardous products, including children’s toys, stripped from shelves.

  • Gemma Grant and Jessica Yun
Brett Ryan has a broken sternum from a mountain biking accident on the last day of his Tasmania trip.

When Brett scalped himself on a remote island, a Learjet flew him to hospital

Drinking too much overseas can void your travel insurance. Being forgetful about your luggage may also mean you won’t get covered. And if you like extreme sports, or a cruise, check the fine print.

  • Julie Power
Emma Le Sueur, from The Fit Way at Lennox Head, applying sunscreen lotion on her son, Jaxon, aged 8.

SPF loophole: Experts’ aerosol sunscreen warning for parents

Radiation and melanoma experts say updates to the TGA’s rules for sunscreen labelling fail to address issues with aerosol sunscreen safety.

  • Mary Ward
Telecommunications industry ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said: “If we need to take a strong line with Optus to get the right outcome for their customers, that’s what we will do.”

Telcos’ customer complaints spike after Optus outage

Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert says the company’s offers of free data was cold comfort for many Optus customers, especially those who couldn’t call triple-zero.

  • David Swan

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/consumer-safety-1mvq