Australian Customs and Border Protection seized 1.1 million counterfeit items in 2009, more than double the 547,000 items seized in 2008.
The Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, released figures on Friday 19 March and expressed concerns about the serious risks to the health and safety that counterfeit items can pose.
Mr O’Connor recommended consumers be wary of any deals that seem too good to be true and admitted that many fakes are very close copies of the genuine goods, and detecting them can be difficult.
He reaffirmed the commitment of Customs and Border Protection in fighting against counterfeiting and acknowledged the close cooperation with industry through the notice of objection scheme.
This dramatic increase in counterfeit items highlights the work of Australian Customs service and its effective role in stopping the importation of counterfeit items. It also emphasizes that all kinds of products are now copied including electric appliances, batteries, drugs, without the consumer sometimes realising that the items purchased could be fake.