Training & Events

Product Liability & Safety - The Essentials

Christopher Marsh

• 04 August 2025 • 1 min read

A webinar series featuring key insights into Australia’s product liability and product safety regime.

2025 Product Liability & Safety – The Essentials webinar series will provide key insights into Australia’s product liability and product safety regime.

Across three webinars, our team will provide an overview of the ACCC’s recent product safety-related activity and priorities for 2025/26, the liability of manufacturers and suppliers under the Australian Consumer Law and the common law (including in negligence and for breach of contract), the key obligations to be aware of when conducting a product recall and also the current framework for product liability class actions in Australia. As legal obligations tighten and enforcement activity rises, it is more important than ever for businesses to fully understanding their responsibilities when it comes to putting safe products on the market.

Each concise 45 minute session is designed to be practical and valuable for professionals at all levels. Our presenters will provide legal overviews and help you navigate the evolving risks associated with product liability and product safety in Australia. Please find a full description of the Product Liability & Safety – The Essentials webinar series below, including a link to register for our first session.

Whether you’re advising internal teams, managing legal exposure or responding to regulatory action, this series will provide insights into compliance, litigation risk and strategic responses.

For any questions please contact our events team.

The webinar series

This program will be hosted virtually between July and November 2025. All sessions will be held mid morning.

Products, Priorities and Penalties: Navigating product safety, the ACL and the ACCC

Presented by by Christopher Marsh, Special Counsel

Session 1 included an overview of the Australian product liability regime, with a focus on the ACCC’s role in Australia's product safety regime. We provided a complete analysis of the ACCC’s recent product-safety related enforcement activity and an overview of the ACCC’s recently announced product safety priorities for 2025/26.

The session was suited to attendees who are navigating routine compliance or managing complex product safety risks, as it provided practical guidance to support legal and commercial strategies.

Product liability – the ACL, contracts, negligence

Tuesday 23 September 2025
Presented by by Christopher Marsh, Special Counsel

Building on Session 1, this session will explore all of the key product safety-related obligations under the Australian Consumer Law, including mandatory standards, safety defects and the interrelationship between product safety and the ACL’s better-known consumer guarantees provisions. We’ll then provide an overview of product liability obligations in the context of breaches of contract and negligence claims.

Our presenters will unpack key concepts such as implied terms, exclusion clauses, the duties owed by manufacturers and suppliers to ensure products are safe and practical considerations for minimising exposure these claims.

From product recalls to proceedings – managing a product recall and the risk of class actions

Wednesday 12 November 2025
Presented by Christopher Marsh, Special Counsel

In our final session, we will explore the practical and reputational risks posed by product recalls and class actions. Our presenters will outline the key obligations of suppliers’ when conducting a voluntary or mandatory product recall, including strategic considerations, the important reporting obligations and practical tips.

Finally, we will discuss the framework for product liability class actions in Australia, the growing role of litigation funders in product-related class actions and what that means for corporate risk and a brief overview of recent trends in this space.

Christopher Marsh

Christopher specialises in competition and consumer law advice and litigation, often advising franchisors on the Franchising Code of Conduct and resolving franchisee disputes.

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