Corded blind safety
Since 2008, 8 young children have died in New Zealand after becoming entangled in the cords of window coverings. In 2026, the Government announced its decision to introduce product safety standards to make these products safer for children.
On this page I tēnei whārangi
Safety issues
Loose cords on window coverings such as roller blinds, concertina blinds, Roman blinds, and slatted blinds like Venetian blinds pose a serious safety risk for young children. Children can become entangled in operating cords or inner cords, which can lead to strangulation.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has taken a number of steps to address these risks. These include working with retailers, manufacturers, suppliers, and community organisations, as well as running consumer awareness campaigns. These efforts have encouraged consumers to retrofit safety devices on existing corded window coverings or choose cordless designs when purchasing new products.
Government decision to introduce product safety standards
In June 2026, the Government announced its decision to introduce product safety regulations for corded window coverings to address the risk of serious injury and death.
The regulations will require suppliers of corded window coverings in New Zealand to comply with one of four recognised international standards, from Australia, Canada, the United States, or the European Union. This flexible approach allows suppliers to choose the compliance pathway that best suits their products and business models.
Once in place, this will require new corded blinds to meet certain safety measures to remove or mitigate cord hazards. This could include shorter cords, clearer warning labels, or safety devices supplied with the item so parents can fix loose cords out of a child's reach.
The aim is to reduce deaths and serious injuries while minimising unnecessary compliance costs and market disruption. It will also help ensure consumers continue to have access to a wide range of window covering products, compared with a system that mandates a single standard.
MBIE will now work through the final scope and design of the standards, which will be made under the Fair Trading Act. Final details will be available in due course. Once the standards have been made, there will be a one-year transition period to ensure businesses have time to prepare for the changes.
Read the Government’s announcement:
Corded blinds to be made safer for children(external link) — Beehive.govt.nz
Read the Cabinet paper, Cabinet minutes and Regulatory Impact Statement:
Reducing Preventable Harms to Children Caused by Corded Window Coverings [PDF 1.1MB]
MBIE’s Product Safety website includes information about how to replace these products or use safety devices to keep cords out of reach of young children.
Consultation
On 27 January – 5 March 2023, MBIE consulted on options to address the safety risks posed by corded window coverings. The consultation sought feedback on a range of regulatory and non regulatory options to reduce risks to young children.
The feedback from this consultation, along with further research, was used to develop a better understanding of the nature and scale of the problem, the options, benefits, costs and other impacts of the options, and implementation. This informed MBIE’s advice to Ministers on addressing the risks from corded window coverings.
Have your say: Options to address safety risks of corded window coverings