|  Toy Safety

A child's play is their work and providing age appropriate toys supports and makes an essential contribution to their development. Certainty of safety, value and durability of high-quality toys, help to ensure your child the best experience. 

Toys can never be guaranteed 100% destructible, but ensuring they carry quality compliance certification and by following a few important tips, your toys can continue to give value for many generations to come. In Australia, toy safety in Australia is determined and enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commision (ACCC). 

Amongst the Australian Toy Safety requiremements, the ACCC has Mandatory Standards for Toys for children up to and including 36 months (3 years old). This standard protects children from choking hazards caused by small parts. When considering the measurement of small parts, it is important to note that small parts can be by design, or as a result of a toy broken under reasonable use, including wear and tear.

The toy stafety standards take into account the size and shape of the toy, (including parts of the toy), as well as subjecting the toy to stress, drop testing, tip-over testing, and include standards relating to toxicity and heavy metal contamination.

Mercurius Australia ensures all our toys meet the necessary safety standards, carry acceptable certification and where necessary, show the appropriate warning labels. Many of our toys carry the European safety standard, EN71, which meets all the necessary Australian standards, in addition to mandatory European standards. 

|  Tips on Toy Safety

• While we all love our children playing independently, adult supervision is always needed to oversee saftey


• Keep the play space tidy - a cluttered toy area is a safety hazard


• Check the toy basket regularly for broken toys, loose parts or inappropriate toys


• Do a regular safety check - if a toy is broken or has developed loose parts, repair or throw away immediately


• Where you have toddlers or older children, remember their toys may not be suitable for younger children


• Always read labels to check a toy is suitable for a child's age


• Take all warnings seriously - they have been developed for a reason


• Age levels for toys are determined for safety reasons, not intelligence or maturity. If a child appears advanced for thie age, safety factors still apply to their actual age!


• A warning for a choking hazard not only applies to small parts by design, but also where small parts may come about as the result of a broken toy under reasonable use, including wear and tear. This also applies to warnings for the development of potentially dangerous sharp edges or splinters from breakage.


• New toys are developed to meet todays standards - older toys or family heirloom toys maynot meet todays standards. Check older toys for wear and tear or breakages, and pre-1978 paint finishes may contain lead paint.

|  For Retailers

Mercurius Australia ensures all the toys we distribute meet the necessary safety standards, carry acceptable certification and where necessary, show the appropriate warning labels. Where a toy carries the European safety standard, EN71, this meets all the necessary Australian standards, in addition to mandatory European standards. 

Where a toy carries warnings or certification on the original packaging or product labels, this must be displayed to the customer and accompany the product when sold. If a product is repackaged, any warnings or certifications must still accompany the product. 

Appropriate age levels for safety reasons need to be accurately represented when advertising or promoting a product distributed or represented by Mercurius Australia. Misleading representation of age levels in regard to mandatory standards voids any safety certification.