Inspectors from Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading and the state’s Electrical Safety Office completed a “joint operation” at Panda Mart’s Brisbane store before it opened to ensure the new retail venue complied with product safety rules.
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The store, which is located at Rocklea, south of the Brisbane CBD, opened to long queues and viral social media posts over the weekend, sparking a frenzy among shoppers who were keen to pick up a bargain.
It is the third Panda Mart store to open in Australia, following similar launches in the Melbourne suburbs of Cranbourne and Preston.
The two Melbourne stores were forced to close for three days in December last year, after inspectors from Consumer Affairs Victoria obtained an urgent injunction following the discovery of hundreds of illegal items in the stores.
Earlier in 2025, shoppers had been warned to stop using products purchased from Panda Mart, after government inspectors seized thousands of products from the South African retailer over safety concerns.
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Panda Mart continues to face 147 criminal charges over unsafe products being sold at its Cranbourne store.
In response to questions from SmartCompany, a spokesperson for the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) confirmed the office is monitoring the situation with the Brisbane store.
“The Office of Fair Trading takes consumer product safety seriously,” the spokesperson said.
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“Prior to the store’s opening, OFT completed a joint operation with the Electrical Safety Office to confirm regulatory compliance, and we are working with Panda Mart in Queensland to ensure unsafe products do not enter the marketplace.”
Like its counterparts in other states and territories, the OFT supplies businesses with information about product safety and enforces consumer protection laws.
The Electrical Safety Office oversees regulations around the safety of household electrical equipment, including product registration, certification and compliance monitoring.
In Victoria, the electrical regulator previously warned shoppers about unsafe table lamps purchased from the retailer, which it said could be “deadly”.
SmartCompany has contacted Panda Mart for comment.