A bill will be gazetted December 11 updating the safety standards of the Toys & Children's Products Safety Ordinance.

The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau said today Hong Kong adopts a multiple safety standards regime for toys and children's products. Such a product is regarded as safe if it complies with the standards.

The regime not only ensures the safety level accorded to children is on par with that in advanced economies, but also avoids the cost of establishing a separate set of standards for the Hong Kong market, the bureau noted.

The Toys & Children's Products Safety (Amendment) Bill 2009 will align the standards listed in the ordinance with the most up-to-date, operative standards promulgated by the standards institutions.

It will also improve the mechanism for updating the safety standards for toys by putting them in a schedule to the ordinance so future changes can be effected by way of subsidiary legislation.

Major trade organisations, child-welfare groups and the Legislative Council Panel on Economic Development supported the proposed amendments. The bill will be tabled at the Legislative Council December 16.