Sedgwick releases latest Australian Product Safety and Recall Index Report
SYDNEY, 25 September 2025 – According to Sedgwick’s latest Australian Product Safety and Recall Index, the number of Australian product recall events fell 14.3% from 460 in the second half (H2) of 2024 to 394 in the first half (H1) of 2025. Despite this decline, H1 2025 still recorded the highest total product recalls for the first half of a year since H1 2021. Historically, it is normal for H1 totals to be lower than those in H2.
Sedgwick’s biannual Australian Product Safety and Recall Index report analyses product safety and recall data from the Australian automotive, consumer product, and food and drink sectors, as well as product recalls, corrections, and alerts for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The latest edition examines data from the first half of 2025, January through June.
Four of the five sectors that Sedgwick tracks exhibited a notable decline in events in H1 2025 compared to H2 2024. The automotive industry experienced the largest decline with recalls plummeting 30.7% from 163 in H2 2024 to 113 in H1 2025. The food and drink industry followed suit, experiencing a 17.5% reduction in recalls. The pharmaceutical and medical device sectors recorded declines of 18.4% and 6.1% respectively. The consumer product sector was the exception, with a modest 2.8% increase in recall events.
In addition to the recall data and analysis, the latest Australian Product Safety and Recall Index report provides essential insights into the regulatory developments that shaped the first half of the year and perspectives on what product safety stakeholders should anticipate for the remainder of 2025. In H1, several sectors saw regulatory changes that will bring Australia more in line with other major economies. These include enhanced cyber security rules for smart devices and toys, extended producer responsibilities for batteries and other consumer goods, and requirements for autonomous emergency braking in vehicles.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s new procedure for recalls, product alerts, and product corrections took effect in March, outlining obligations for sponsors of medical devices, medicines, bloods, and biologicals when conducting market actions, including product recalls. The changes to recall procedures for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, as well as new adverse-event reporting requirements for hospitals, may result in more market actions for these industries. In the food sector, the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct is now mandatory for all supermarkets and grocery wholesalers with the possibility of major fines for noncompliance.
“Manufacturers and suppliers should expect risks to continue increasing as Australian regulators work to align their rules with the frameworks used in other jurisdictions,” said Mark Buckingham, International Product Recall Consultant at Sedgwick. “While recalls and market actions were down in the first half of 2025, historical data suggests that activity will increase in the second half of the year. Businesses will need to remain agile to keep ahead of evolving regulations. It will be important to update their recall and incident response plans to ensure they align with the new rules.”
To download the latest Australian Product Safety and Recall Index report, click here.
Sedgwick publishes the Australian Product Safety Recall Index twice a year. It is the only report that aggregates and tracks recall and market action data across multiple Australian government agencies and industries to help stakeholders respond to the regulatory environment, product recalls, and other in-market challenges. For more information, visit www.sedgwick.com/product-recall.
About Sedgwick
Sedgwick is the world’s leading risk and claims administration partner, helping clients thrive by navigating the unexpected. The company’s expertise, combined with the most advanced AI-enabled technology available, sets the standard for solutions in claims administration, loss adjusting, benefits administration and product recall. With over 33,000 colleagues and 10,000 clients across 80 countries, Sedgwick provides unmatched perspective, caring that counts, and solutions for the rapidly changing and complex risk landscape. Sedgwick’s majority shareholder is The Carlyle Group; Stone Point Capital LLC, Altas Partners, CDPQ, Onex and other management investors are minority shareholders. For more, see sedgwick.com.
