Leaders from the consumer, services and product industry came together at Standards Australia recently to agree on the development of a button battery standard.

This decision follows an increase of concerned communities as the use of button batteries continues to rise in Australia. Known for being in children’s toys, button batteries can now be found in a much wider range of consumer products and are also sold as a standalone product.

“The outcome of this forum of members of the public, industry bodies and regulators including the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC), confirmed concerns around button batteries and the need to provide further guidance to address button batteries issues in a measured approach,” said Head of Stakeholder Engagement Daniel Chidgey.

“While there are some standards that reference these batteries, there is not yet any holistic guidelines for products with button batteries,” said Mr Chidgey.

“Button batteries can be found in a range of items including thermometers, remote controls, children’s toys and novelty items,” said Ms Barbara Geens, Chair of the Industry Working Group on Button Batteries Safety. “The goal of this proposed standard is to create a unified approach for safer use and distribution of these batteries which is an essential step in protecting consumers.”

“This is an example of Standards Australia proactively working with industry, government and the public to provide the right standards solutions to equip the consumer products, services and safety sector. We look forward to continuing to work with industry and the Australian community in developing this pivotal guidance,” concluded Mr. Chidgey.

Read more at: Standards Australia

• 10 out 17 common household products failed our button battery safety test.
• Despite two deaths and many injuries to children, product makers are largely ignoring the voluntary button battery safety code.

Button batteries are everywhere these days, powering everything from medical devices to musical birthday cards.

But there’s a price to pay for the convenience: button batteries have long been a potentially lethal threat to young children, who ingest them at an alarming rate.

Read more here.

Extract:

Amendment 1 to this Standard adds requirements to address safety issues identified with coin/button batteries and batteries designated R1.

Equipment containing one or more coin/button cell/R1 batteries shall have safety warnings in the instructions accompanying the equipment.

To find out more about this standard go to http://www.saiglobal.com

19 September 2016

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is urging businesses to adopt a new Code designed to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from children swallowing button batteries in Australia.

Read more on the ACCC website

The following standards have now been published:-

• AS/NZS IEC 60601.2.2
• AS/NZS IEC 60601.2.45:2015
• AS/NZS IEC 60601.2.27

Single compliance mark—end of transition period approaching!

The single Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) was introduced on 1 March 2013 with a three-year transition period to 29 February 2016.
Suppliers must register on the online national database and start using the RCM by 1 March 2016.

The final step to product compliance involves labelling the product:

Steps to compliance
1. Identify the applicable labelling notice
2. Identify the applicable technical standards (prescribed in the relevant labelling notice) and the testing requirements
3. Demonstrate product compliance
4. Complete a Declaration of Conformity (DoC) and maintain compliance records
5. Register as a ‘responsible supplier’
6. Label the product
The ACMA regulatory arrangements require a supplier to apply a compliance label to a product before the product is supplied to the Australian market.