Selling Christmas goods safely

Christmas items and seasonal decorations are among the most prevalent goods sold with button batteries.

The flat, round cells can become stuck in a child’s throat and are responsible for a growing record of serious injuries and deaths – with estimates of around 20 emergency department trips per week by Australian children exposed to the batteries.

This Christmas, if you supply button batteries or products powered by them, familiarise yourself with the requirements outlined by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Mandatory standards to reduce the risk of death and injury have applied to both button cell and coin cell batteries, as well as the products that include them, since June 2022.

All participants in the supply chain of new and second-hand goods sold to consumers must comply.