It is illegal under the Australian Consumer Law to make false or misleading claims about the country of origin of goods, that is, claims that a product (or part of a product) was made, produced, manufactured or grown in a particular country. This includes displaying symbols usually associated with a particular country (for example, the Australian flag or a kangaroo) on goods or their packaging.
To provide certainty for businesses, the ACL provides ‘safe harbour’ defences for certain claims, including ‘Made in’, ‘Product of’ or ‘Grown in, about the country of origin of goods. If goods satisfy the criteria for these defences, the claim will be safe from legal action under the key provisions regarding false, misleading or deceptive conduct. However, businesses are still entitled to make country of origin claims that do not qualify for these defences, providing they are not false, misleading or deceptive.