Therapeutic Goods Order No. 65
Child-resistant packaging for therapeutic goods
Published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No. GN 32, 11 August 2004
Printable version of TGO 65 (pdf,129kb)
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Therapeutic Goods Act 1989
THERAPEUTIC GOODS ORDER NO. 65
Child-Resistant Packaging for Therapeutic Goods
I, Terry Slater, delegate of the Minister for Health and Ageing, for the purposes of section 10 of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (the Act) and acting under that section, having consulted with the Therapeutic Goods Committee in accordance with subsection 10(4) of the Act:
- REVOKE the following Orders:
- on and from 1 July 2007, Therapeutic Goods Order No. 20 entitled 'Child Resistant Containers'; and
- on and from 1 July 2007, Therapeutic Goods Order No. 33 entitled 'Amendment of Schedules to Therapeutic Goods Order No. 20 Child Resistant Containers'; AND
- DETERMINE that, subject to subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), therapeutic goods to which this Order applies must be packaged in accordance with the requirements of this Order:
- therapeutic goods that are included in an application lodged under section 23 of the Act, being an application lodged before 1 July 2005, must, until 30 June 2007, comply with either this Order or Therapeutic Goods Order No. 20 'Child Resistant Containers', as modified by Therapeutic Goods Order No. 33;
- therapeutic goods that are included in an application lodged under section 23 of the Act, being an application lodged before 1 July 2005, must comply with this Order from 1 July 2007;
- therapeutic goods that are included in an application lodged under section 23 of the Act, being an application lodged on or after 1 July 2005, must comply with this Order; and
- therapeutic goods that are subject to this Order but which are not included in an application made under section 23 of the Act must comply with this Order from 1 July 2007
This Order includes the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to this Order.
This Order commences from the day it is gazetted in the Commonwealth Gazette.
1 Application and exemptions
1(1) This Order applies to:
- therapeutic goods which contain a substance specified in the First Schedule to this Order or a salt or ester or other derivative of a substance specified in the First Schedule to this Order, except goods:
- that are in a container holding 500 solid dosage units or more (excluding goods packed and labelled for retail supply);
- intended to be administered by injection;
- that are solid or semi-solid (excluding solid dosage forms) and are intended to be applied to the skin or mucous membrane;
- that are liquid or semi-solid and are intended to be applied to the eye or mucous membrane, and are supplied in a container that has a nominal capacity of 20 millilitre or less or that is fitted with a restricted flow insert;
- that are individually wrapped powders;
- that fall within the description of Item 9(a) of Schedule 5 to the Regulations;
- that have not reached their final stage of manufacture;
- supplied to a person whom a healthcare professional, authorised under relevant State or Territory legislation to supply or prescribe the goods, believes would suffer undue hardship through difficulty in opening a container complying with the requirements of this Order;
- to be used by, or administered to, a patient for treatment in a public hospital, private hospital or nursing home;
- that are solely for export; or
- intended solely for use in animals; and
- therapeutic goods to which paragraph 1(1)(a) does not apply but which, through their packaging or labelling, state or imply that the goods, as presented, are child-resistant.
2 Interpretation
2(1) In this Order -
'Act' means the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, as amended from time to time;
'blister' means a package in which one or more dosage units are enclosed between a pre-formed tray with individual pockets and a lidding material which may be flat or shaped. The dosage units can only be extracted from one pocket at a time. The material of the tray is usually different from that of the lid. It must be cut or torn in order to access the contents;
'child-resistant packaging' means packaging that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for young children to open, or gain access to the contents of, within a reasonable time but not unduly difficult for adults to use properly, but does not mean packaging which all young children cannot open, or obtain the contents of, within a reasonable time. Child-resistant is not synonymous with child-proof;
'closure' means the portion(s) of a package that keeps the package closed. A closure may be separately identifiable or an integral component of a package;
'container', in relation to therapeutic goods, means the vessel, bottle, tube, ampoule, syringe, vial, sachet, strip pack, blister pack, wrapper, cover or other similar article that immediately covers the goods, but does not include an article intended for ingestion;
'goods' means therapeutic goods;
'non-reclosable package' means a package that, having been opened, is not capable of being reclosed to its original child-resistant state;
'packaging' means a package, including any closure system, being the sum of components that together immediately contain and protect the dosage form. It includes containers, closures and closure liners. Packaging may be either reclosable or non-reclosable;
'Poisons Standard' has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the Regulations;
'reclosable package' means a package which, once opened, can be reclosed to re-form a child-resistant package;
'Regulations' means the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990, as amended from time to time;
'Sponsor' has the same meaning as in subsection 3(1) of the Act;
'Standard' means any of the national or international Standards referred to in paragraph 4(1)(a);
'strip' means a package in which one or more dosage units are enclosed individually in a continuous strip made by bonding two layers of material together so that the dosage units are separated and protected and can only be extracted from one pocket at a time. Each layer may be of the same or different material. It must be cut or torn in order to access the contents;
'therapeutic goods' has the same meaning as in subsection 3(1) of the Act; and
'young children' means children within the age groups specified in the protocols given in the Standards referred to in paragraph 4(1)(a) for the testing of child-resistance.
3 General requirements
3(1) The requirements of this Order apply in addition to any other packaging requirements that may be applied under the Act or Regulations.
3(2) The packaging for goods to which this Order applies must be fit for purpose for the shelf-life of the goods.
3(3) The packaging for goods to which this Order applies must retain its child-resistant properties for the expected in-use life of the goods.
3(4) Performance of the child-resistant feature must not be adversely affected by the contents of the package.
3(5) Sight, unusual strength or unusual dexterity shall not be required to access the contents of the package or, in the case of reclosable packages, to re-engage the child-resistant feature.
4 Reclosable packages
4(1) Where goods to which this Order applies are in a reclosable package, the package must:
- comply with at least one of the following Standards:
- the International Organization for Standardization Standard ISO 8317:1989 entitled Child-resistant packaging - Requirements and testing procedures for reclosable packages;
- the British Standards Institution Standard BS EN 28317:1993 entitled Child-resistant packaging - Requirements and testing procedures for reclosable packages;
- the Canadian Standards Association Standard CSA Z76.1-99 entitled Reclosable Child-Resistant Packages;
- the United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16, Section 1700.15, entitled Poison prevention packaging standards and Section 1700.20, entitled Testing procedure for special packaging, as in effect at the date of this Order;
- the Australian Standard AS 1928-2001 entitled Child-resistant packages; or
- be a container which is fitted with a closure that is specified and described in the Second Schedule to this Order.
4(2) Where goods to which this Order applies are in a reclosable package that complies with any one of the Standards listed in paragraph 4(1)(a), the Sponsor of the goods is to hold evidence that the package so complies. Such evidence may consist of:
- certification (or appropriately authorised copies of such certification) from a recognised testing authority, attesting that the package complies with a relevant Standard, expressed so as to make it beyond doubt that the certification in fact refers to the package specified by the Sponsor, together with a statement of the protocol used to demonstrate child-resistance;
- where the package is not certified as above, information proving compliance with a relevant Standard, expressed so as to make it beyond doubt that the information in fact refers to the package specified by the Sponsor, together with a statement of the protocol used to demonstrate child-resistance; or
- information demonstrating that the package as specified by the Sponsor has been established previously as complying with a relevant Standard.
4(3) In addition to the requirement referred to in subclause 4(2), where goods to which this Order applies are in a reclosable package, the Sponsor of the goods is to hold evidence demonstrating that the package will remain fit for purpose for the shelf-life of the goods, will retain its child-resistant properties for the expected in-use life of the goods, and that performance of the child-resistant feature will not be adversely affected by the contents of the package.
4(4) Where a change in specifications for a package occurs, the Sponsor of the goods is to hold additional evidence demonstrating that the child-resistant properties of the package and operation of the closure have not been adversely affected.
4(5) In addition to the requirements referred to in subclauses 4(1), 4(2), 4(3), and 4(4), where goods to which this Order applies are in a reclosable package, the Sponsor of the goods is to hold information in relation to:
- the types and sizes of container to which a specified closure may be applied;
- the suitability of the package for the type of goods;
- instructions appropriate to the particular packaging system to ensure correct application of the closure to the container after filling and engagement of the child-resistant mechanism; and
- the quality control tests applied to demonstrate that production lots of the package are of consistent and satisfactory quality and appropriate for use.
4(6) When goods to which this Order applies are in a reclosable package, adequate directions for opening and effectively reclosing the package shall be conspicuously marked or written on the package or on a label securely affixed or attached to the package.
4(7) Any directions on the package or label for goods to which this Order applies concerning the correct operation of the child-resistant mechanism must be written in the English language or clearly demonstrated in graphics.
4(8) Where goods to which this Order applies contain a substance specified in the First Schedule, and are packaged together with a separate dropper or applicator that is reasonably expected to replace the original closure on the goods once the goods are in use, then that configuration also must comply with the requirements of this Order.
5 Non-Reclosable Packages
5(1) Subject to subclause 5(2), when goods to which this Order applies are in a package which is a non-reclosable package, the package must be in the form of a blister or other sealed unit formed from paper, film, plastic material, metal foil or other sheet or strip material or a combination of these in which a single dosage unit is enclosed, whether as part of a continuous series comprising a strip or sheet of like material or not.
5(2) A non-reclosable package referred to in subclause 5(1) shall not be formed from cellulose film or unlaminated paper.
Dated this 5th day of August 2004
Terry Slater
Delegate of the Minister for Health and Ageing