CHOICE's submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on the button battery regulatory options paper supports a mandatory standard for button batteries that requires a secure battery compartment, child-resistant packaging and warning and safety information requirements, including exemptions for hearing aid devices and associated zinc air batteries.
The ACCC and the Assistant Treasurer must act quickly to introduce this robust mandatory standard. CHOICE, along with 28,000 members of the community, have campaigned for stronger regulatory measures for button batteries since 2016. The tragic stories of Summer Steer and Isabella Rees are evidence enough that button batteries pose a serious and irreversible risk to young children and that maintaining the status quo of no regulatory measures is not an option. The federal government must introduce a mandatory standard for button batteries and products containing them to eliminate market failure, significantly reduce community harm and meet community expectations of product safety.
Download submission (PDF)
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