Consumer group CHOICE has filed a formal complaint over banned and unsafe products still listed on Amazon, Temu, AliExpress and eBay. The ACCC has ordered four marketplaces to delist magnetic chess-style games carrying a deadly ingestion risk. Amazon’s Mid-Year Sale ends tonight, which is exactly the moment to step back, breathe out, and look at the AU-owned EOFY catalogue running deeper than anything on Haul.
CHOICE Calls Out Amazon, Temu and AliExpress Over Banned Kids’ Products
Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has lodged a formal complaint with the consumer regulator after finding that prohibited and unsafe products continue to be sold through Amazon, Temu, AliExpress and eBay, ABC News reported on 3 June. The items flagged include novelty cigarettes that emit smoke, toy-like lighters, detachable tongue studs with choking risk, flammable clothing and toys containing potentially lethal button batteries.
CHOICE campaign director Andy Kelly told the ABC that online sellers often portray themselves as intermediaries to deflect responsibility onto third-party vendors. “This legal gap permits online marketplaces to continue selling these unsafe items with minimal repercussions,” Kelly said. CHOICE wants the federal government to introduce a general safety provision that would force every business, marketplace included, to take responsibility for the safety of what they ship.
The complaint follows the ACCC’s recent Federal Court action against Amazon over unicorn toddler backpacks missing button-battery warnings, the first time the watchdog has tested an online marketplace under product safety law. Kelly called that case a significant test of Amazon’s accountability. For Australian parents the shopper takeaway is consistent. If it touches a child, prefer an AU-owned retailer with local fulfilment, a phone number that rings, and product compliance you can verify before checkout.
ACCC Orders Four Marketplaces to Delist Magnetic Toys
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued removal orders to Amazon, eBay, Kogan and Fruugo, requiring them to delist magnetic chess-style games that contain small high-powered magnets banned under Australian Consumer Law since 2012, Retail Insight Network reported on 1 June. The ban covers any product with detachable high-powered magnets small enough to be swallowed, including toys, games, construction kits and jewellery.
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe warned that “high-powered magnets can cause life-threatening injuries, particularly to young children. Magnets can link together in the intestine or tissue. They are also a choking risk.” All four platforms have agreed to remove the listings and contact affected customers with safety notifications. Kogan, Amazon and Fruugo have either issued or agreed to issue refunds. The regulator is also seeking commitments that the same or similar items will not be relisted by other sellers.
For parents and grandparents currently shopping for school holiday and birthday gifts, the practical move is simple. AU-owned toy stores like Mr Toys Toyworld and Showbags carry compliance certifications and Australian product safety standards on every listing, and customer service is reachable inside business hours rather than via a global help-desk queue.
EOFY Week One: What’s Still Live and Worth Chasing
End of Financial Year 2026 deals are in full swing across every major Australian retailer, with the deepest discounts of the year now visible on big-ticket categories, Homes To Love updated its tracker on 5 June. The genuine standouts among AU-owned brands this week: Lounge Lovers running up to 50% off sitewide, MCM House at 20 to 50% off, and Sleeping Giant pushing 30 to 60% off storewide on mattresses. Pillow Talk has 40% off sitewide, Koala has up to 30% off across mattresses and sofa beds, and Linen House opens at up to 50% off from 15 June.
The veteran shopping tip worth repeating: discount depth does not deepen as 30 June approaches, but choice gets dramatically thinner. Popular stock such as mattresses, laptops and TVs sells out well before the final week. If you have a specific item in mind this is the weekend to lock it in rather than gamble on a deeper price on day 25 of a 30-day sale.
Last Call: Deals Closing This Week
A handful of strong AU-owned promotions wrap inside the next seven days, according to the Australian Women’s Weekly EOFY 2026 tracker updated 4 June. The Body Shop has 30% off all full-priced skincare ending today, 7 June, with selected exclusions. Lovehoney’s up-to-60% off wellness sale also closes tonight. MoveActive has up to 60% off selected activewear styles ending today. Papinelle’s end-of-season sale runs to 8 June at up to 60% off, City Chic has 30 to 50% off almost everything to 8 June, and MARAIS has an extra 20% off selected full-price and sale items closing 7 June.
Looking one week ahead, Linen House opens 15 June with up to 50% off, Yoto launches 20% off players and accessories from 16 June to 22 June, and Click Frenzy returns 18 June for the first time in over a year, the platform’s first major outing in over a year. That week-two cluster is when EOFY pivots from soft-launch to peak shopping volume, so if you can defer until then, the catalogue widens substantially.
Top 5 Deals of the Day
Five stores. Five categories. The deepest headline discounts surfaced from a sweep of every retailer on It’s On Sale, audited at dawn.
Discount
SportsgirlWomens FashionUp to 90% off the Sportsgirl sale floor: party dresses, knitwear, denim and accessories with the deepest clearance running in mainstream sizes through to size 16.90%OFF2
RebelSport & FitnessUp to 85% off Rebel’s footy fan-gear clearance, plus a strong sweep of running, basketball and footy boots from mid-tier and second-tier brands.85%OFF3
Kick Push SkateSkate & WheelsUp to 83% off complete decks, trucks, wheels, bearings and apparel from skate-owned Australian labels at Kick Push. Free shipping over $80.83%OFF4
Elite SupplementsHealth & SupplementsUp to 80% off the Elite Supplements clearance: protein, pre-workout, BCAAs and recovery from Australian-made brands in stack-friendly multi-tub sizes.80%OFF5
BakuSwim & BeachUp to 70% off the Baku swimwear sale: one-pieces, bikini separates and rashies sized 8 to 22, with end-of-season clearance prices on resort prints.70%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Other Deals Worth a Look
- Eckersleys: up to 70% off art, craft and stationery. Strong picks for winter-holiday craft packs and journaling supplies.
- Grahams Jewellers: up to 70% off selected diamond, pearl and gold pieces. Family-owned Australian jeweller since 1907.
- Veronika Maine: up to 70% off polished workwear and event dressing. Australian-designed, sized 6 to 16.
- Decjuba: up to 70% off winter knits, denim and outerwear. Melbourne-founded, AU-owned, free delivery over $99.
- Dusk: up to 60% off home fragrance, candles and diffusers. The reliable EOFY hostess-gift restock.
What to Watch Tomorrow
Two markers for the week ahead. Click Frenzy is expected to publish its participating-retailer list around 11 June, which will tell us how broad the free-to-list model has pulled smaller AU labels into the platform. And the Fair Work Commission’s 5.97% minimum wage increase from 1 July is now driving the deepest pre-EOFY clearance from small AU-owned retailers most exposed to payroll inflation, so the next three weeks are when their margin-led discounts hit hardest before the 1 July reset.
Tomorrow’s brief: a parent’s compliance checklist for spotting unsafe marketplace listings before they hit the cart, plus week-two EOFY winners as the Lounge Lovers and Linen House Mid-Year drops kick off.
