Unsafe goods notices – current bans

There are Unsafe Goods Notices for:

• Chainsaws without a chain brake
• Lead in Children's Toys
• Hot water bottles
• Candles with lead in the wicks and candlewicks containing lead
• Pistol crossbows

View unsafe goods notices that have been revoked or expired.

Unsafe Goods (Chainsaws without a chain brake) Notice 2010

Reissued on 23rd December 2010 (the unsafe goods notice lasts for 18 months from this date)

(First banned 24 September 2009 this notice supersedes Unsafe Goods (chainsaws without a chain brake) Notice 2009)

This notice applies to new and used chainsaws supplied, or offered for supply, or advertised for supply, in trade or otherwise than in trade.

“Chainsaw” means any powered machine which drives an exposed chain for the purposes of cutting and which is operated by being hand held. This excludes any driven chains which are operated at the end of a pole and which are generally referred to as “pole pruners”, “power pruners” or “long reach pruners”.

All chainsaws must have chain brakes which comply with ISO 6535:2008 Portable chainsaws – chain brake performance.

What does this mean for business?

Unsafe Goods (Lead in children's toys) Indefinite Prohibition Notice 2009

(First banned 20 September 2007 and supply prohibited indefinitely from 26 March 2009.)

Children’s toys which contain lead in their accessible parts at a migration level greater than 90 mg/kg of toy material are declared to be unsafe goods and are prohibited from supply indefinitely.

Migration level means the value calculated after testing in accordance with the procedures and result interpretation provisions of the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2003 entitled ‘Safety of toys, Part 3: Migration of certain elements’.

Unsafe Goods (Hot Water Bottles) Notice 2008 -

(Rubber hot water bottles that did not meet the British Standard were first banned 26 November 2004 and supply prohibited indefinitely from 11 December 2008.)

Prohibits the supply of:

• PVC and Rubber hot water bottles that do not:
  • meet BS1970:2001 or BS1970:2006 Hot water bottles manufactured from rubber and PVC specification

Rubber and (from 25 November 2007) PVC hot water bottles must also:

• show compliance of less than 36 months old with BS1970:2001 or BS:1970:2006 from a laboratory accredited to ISO17025.

Importer's Declaration of Conformity

Importers of hot water bottles (including hot water bottles made from PVC from 25 November 2007) will be required to produce to the New Zealand Customs Service a:

• Test certificate, from an accredited laboratory to ISO 17025, certifying that the hot water bottles comply with British Standard BS 1970:2001 or BS 1970:2006 Hot water bottles manufactured from rubber and PVC Specification. The certificate must be less than 36 months old; and

Statutory declaration stating that the documents produced relate to the hot water bottles being imported. 

A sample copy is available here [PDF 45kb]

You will have to supply the statutory declaration to the New Zealand Customs Service to declare conformity to the requirement of the Unsafe Goods (Hot Water Bottles) Notice 2008.

Unsafe Goods (Candles and Candlewicks) Notice 2001 Prohibited indefinitely 

(Supply prohibited indefinitely from January 2002.)

Prohibits the supply of:

• Candles containing greater than 0.06% lead by weight in their wicks
• Candlewicks containing greater than 0.06% lead by weight.

Replaced the Unsafe Goods (Candles and Candlewicks) Notice 2001 which did not allow for tolerances of accidental and possibly unavoidable trace elements of lead and which came in to effect in June 2000.

Unsafe Goods (Pistol Crossbows) Notice 1988 Prohibited indefinitely

(First banned April 1988, and supply prohibited indefinitely from 20 October 1989.)

Prohibits the supply of:

• The Ninja pistol crossbow
• The Barnett Phantom crossbow
• Any pistol crossbow, which does not have a safety-catch on the firing mechanism.