Sedgwick: Australian Product Recalls Declined in Second Half of 2025

Pharmaceutical products and the food and drinks sectors saw big increases in product recalls in Australia in the second half of 2025, a new report shows.

Sedgwick’s 2026 State of the Nation Australian Product Safety and Recall Index shows the five sectors the company monitors in Australia experienced more events in the second half of 2025 compared with the the first half of 2025.

Market actions on pharmaceutical products rose 70% to a five-year high of 68 in the second half of 2025. The food and drink sector saw recalls increase 36.4% to 45.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration issued 306 market actions across the medical device sector in the second half of 2025. This included 78 product recalls, 186 product corrections, 33 alerts and two product/recall corrections. That was a 3.4% increase from the 296 market action in the first half of 2025.

Electronics remained the most frequently recalled category in the second half of 2025. Toys was in second with 26 recalls, followed by sports and recreation products with 14 recall events.

According to the report, the total number of automotive units impacted increased from 185,726 in the first half of the year to 234,836 in the second half. The most recalls in the second half of 2025 were issued for passenger cars with 189,873. Pick-up trucks followed with 15,376 recalls. Light commercial vehicles were third with 9,905 units recalled.

Electrical systems were the leading causes for automotive recalls in the second half of the year with 20 events. The engine and cooling system came saw the second most recalls (15) followed by exterior lighting and fuel systems with 11 events each.

New regulations that went into effect in the nation that could have an impact on recalls included The Australian New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act, while the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission adopted a theme in 2025 to protect children. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand proposed changes to the current regulations for children’s formula.

In the second half of 2025, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand issued 45 food and drink recalls, with the total number of recalls reaching 78.