Australia was the first nation to establish firmness ratings on mattresses in 2013 and they have since been adopted worldwide.
But rates of sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have not decreased.
Some 212 deaths were reported in Australia in 2023.
Leaders within the infant sleep safety community have now boosted standards on mattress firmness, beefed up the testing process and broadened what products must be assessed.
A three-pronged approach, the firmness standards will soon be matched with 'breathability' testing, which respond to research that carbon dioxide build-up is a contributing factor to SIDS.
Product safety communication designed to ease parent confusion around sleeping and remove misleading claims will also be introduced.
Kellee Eriksson, an emergency nurse and linen manufacturer who contributed to the safety standards, said Australia was leading the charge on infant sleep.
"We will be the first country to implement these enhanced firmness standards, to have information standards, and to have any standards around carbon dioxide when breathing," she told AAP.
"The new standards will allow us to cover a far wider range of products, so that essentially, any product that is marketed for a baby to sleep in will need to comply with them."
Baby loungers and comforters were not previously covered by firmness testing.
Alex Hamilton, who lost her baby son River to SIDS when he was aged four months, said standards were needed to protect confused parents trying to give their child a safe environment.
"It's so overwhelming for so many parents, trying to figure out what's actually safe or what the best thing to do is, and especially when you know when you first have a baby," Ms Hamilton told AAP.
"I know what it's like to wake up to your child not breathing.
"It changed my life in that moment, so (the new standards are) absolutely vital.
"If we can intercept and save a child's life, these standards really are that life-or-death option."
Firm sleep surfaces are crucial for infants in reducing suffocation risks and the rebreathing of carbon dioxide.
The standards were developed through an expert coalition including Standards Australia, the Infant and Nursery Products Association of Australia, Red Nose, KidSafe, industry and retailers.
It builds on existing safe sleep education messaging such as placing babies on their back and avoiding loose blankets.
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