Easter is a popular time to buy chocolates, sweets, showbags and travel and entertainment products
Beware of potentially dangerous items often promoted during this period, such as dodgy toys or products with button batteries
Regulators are taking action, but there are strategies you can also adopt to better protect yourself and loved ones these holidays
Chocolate may be the most commonly spruiked item at Easter, but you can expect businesses to sell all manner of goods to attempt to cash in on this seasonal holiday.
This month has already seen retailers including Aldi, Big W and Kmart pushing Easter-themed plush toys, pyjamas, baskets and costumes, alongside everyone’s favourite chocolate eggs.
Easter is also a time when more than a few of us are snapping up showbags stuffed with novelty knick knacks and buying various travel and entertainment products to see us through the holiday period.
With retailers rushing to roll out all this stock, there’s a lot that can go wrong and Easter favourites haven’t been immune from previous safety scandals.
With research showing Australians tending to think we’re more protected from dangerous products than we really are, we’ve got tips on how to stay safe this Easter.
Previous years have seen several Easter products called out for posing a risk to consumers.
Bunny-themed hoodies coming without required fire hazard warnings, light-up baskets with unsecured button batteries and chocolates and hot cross buns contaminated with undeclared allergens and even glass are some of the cases that have emerged since the beginning of last year.
Other holiday staples including beach tents, outdoor chairs and child car seat accessories have also been recalled from shelves in recent years.
In a sign of 2026 being no different, the first few months of this year have already seen several light-up novelty toys labelled risky for not meeting button battery safety standards.
The first few months of this year have already seen several light-up novelty toys labelled risky for not meeting button battery safety standards
Easter is also a time when parts of New South Wales and Queensland host local agricultural shows, and the Royal Easter Show is held in Sydney.
Showbags are a must-have for many at these events, but these have been found to contain unsafe toys in the past.
Australians overestimating product protections
All this comes in the midst of many Australians believing we’re better protected from dangerous merchandise than we really are.
Previous CHOICE surveys have found that most of us believe businesses are legally required to make sure the products they sell are safe before making them available to consumers.
This isn’t the case – currently, only some products have to be checked by suppliers to ensure they meet national mandatory safety standards before they’re sold in Australia.
Other products, including toys deemed to pose a significant suffocation risk or items made with harmful materials, are banned from our shelves altogether.
Various toys and novelty travel products have been deemed unsafe in recent years. Image: Product Safety
It’s worth knowing that while Australia may not require safety testing for all products before they’re sold, there are established processes in place for withdrawing a product from sale if it turns out to be dangerous.
And protections are improving – previous work by CHOICE has helped result in new safety measures, such as those for button batteries, being added to Australia’s raft of mandatory standards.
Authorities also often scrutinise products more closely at Easter events.
For example, state consumer affairs agencies regularly conduct inspections of showbags, removing items and warning vendors when non-compliant products are found.
Sydney’s Easter Show – one of Australia’s largest agricultural shows – is a regular target of sweeps by NSW Fair Trading, with every showbag on offer being inspected to ensure none contain any unpleasant surprises.
Still, it’s useful to get familiar with ways you can stay safe while buying and using products at this time of year:
Stay across the latest product recalls and safety warnings for food, toys and other items from Product Safety and FSANZ. Following these organisations on social media or signing up to their emails is an easy way to keep an eye on updates.
For years, CHOICE has been calling for a “general safety provision” covering all products sold in Australia.
This would make it illegal for retailers to sell unsafe items and place obligations on businesses to ensure that all products are safe before they’re sold.
Liam Kennedy is a Journalist with the Editorial and investigations team. He answers consumers' most burning questions, from which scams to be aware of and how to save money, to whether new services and products are worth using and how the latest developments in consumer news could affect them.
Prior to CHOICE, Liam worked in production in daily news radio and podcasting.
Liam has a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Technology Sydney.
Find Liam on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Liam Kennedy is a Journalist with the Editorial and investigations team. He answers consumers' most burning questions, from which scams to be aware of and how to save money, to whether new services and products are worth using and how the latest developments in consumer news could affect them.
Prior to CHOICE, Liam worked in production in daily news radio and podcasting.
Liam has a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Technology Sydney.
Find Liam on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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