Back

Country of origin claims explained

Country of origin claims

Goods that have claims that they come from a certain country, must meet a number of standards.  A claim that a good is made, produced or grown in a country may include:

  • 'made in' a country
  • 'produce of', 'product of', 'produced in', or 'grown in' a country
  • use of certain logos such as the ‘Australian Made’ triangle
  • goods, ingredients, or components were 'grown in' a country

The claim may be:

  • attached to the goods (e.g. on a label)
  • in promotional material.

Words or pictures that are a part of a good may not be making a claim about the country it has come from. For example, a t-shirt with a ‘Made in Australia’ label, makes a claim about country of origin, where as a t-shirt with the word ‘Australia’ as part of its design, does not.

'Made in' statements

A 'made in' statement on a good means:

  • work in that country changed what the goods look like or do
  • the business spent at least half of the producing or manufacturing costs in that country.

The ‘Made in Australia’ stamp is an example of a ‘made in’ statement.

'Product of' statements

A ‘product of’ or ‘produced in’ statement means:

  • the product was nearly all produced or manufactured in the country
  • all of the significant parts or ingredients came from that country.

'Grown in' statements

A statement that goods are grown in a certain country claims that:

  • at least half of the finished product was grown or processed in that country
  • nearly all of the production or manufacturing happened in that country
  • all of the main ingredients or components came from (and always come from) that country.

Using a logo

Businesses can only use logos like the 'Australian Made' triangle if:

  • work to make the product was mostly done in that country
  • accounts for a certain percentage of their costs (at least 51% for ‘Made in Australia’).

Certification trademarks

Use a certification trademark to represent the country of origin of a product.

An example of this type of trademark is the ‘Australian Made, Australian Grown’ logo . You must have permission to use these types of trademarks.

Related information