Need to know
- In Australia, three children have died after swallowing a button battery, and it's estimated that one child a month is seriously injured
- Mandatory button battery safety standards came into effect in 2022, but they don't apply to online marketplaces selling other business's products
- Our test of children's products purchased on Shein, Ali Express, eBay and Amazon revealed multiple safety failures
Australia theoretically became a safer place for children on 22 June 2022, when mandatory button battery safety standards came into effect.
Since then, manufacturers selling products containing button batteries in Australia have been required to secure battery compartments to prevent children from accessing them. They also have to undergo their own testing to make sure batteries are secured, and include warnings and emergency advice on packaging about the dangers of button batteries.
This product safety legislation was a world first, and it applies to retailers as well as manufacturers – but not to online marketplaces themselves when acting as an intermediary between the customer and a third-party supplier.
They pose not only a choking hazard but can cause severe internal burns and tissue damage when lodged in any part of the body
The impetus for this long overdue reform couldn't have been more urgent, or more tragic. As of 2020, three deaths and at least 44 serious injuries had resulted from children ingesting button batteries in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also reported in 2020 that an estimated one child a month is seriously injured after swallowing or inserting a button battery.
Bright, shiny and lolly-shaped, small children naturally want to put these bite-sized batteries in their mouths. Once that happens, they pose not only a choking hazard but can cause severe internal burns and tissue damage when lodged in any part of the body.
The risk is increased by the fact that medical professionals can misdiagnose symptoms and be slow to link a child's worsening illness to a button battery ingestion.
Many products fail our test
Laws, of course, only work to the extent that businesses follow them. CHOICE has conducted several battery button safety tests in our labs in recent years, and failures have been common. Last year, we reported on the results of our test of 15 common household products containing button batteries. Ten of the products failed to meet the mandatory standards.
We purchased five toys or novelty items from each site that contained button batteries – products that would likely be attractive to small children
The focus of our most recent safety test was the online marketplaces Shein, Ali Express, Amazon, Kogan Marketplace and eBay.
We purchased five toys or novelty items from each site that contained button batteries – products that would likely be attractive to small children. The results once again show that adherence to the mandatory button battery safety standards is spotty at best, with online platforms failing to stop sellers from listing unsafe products.
Amazon and eBay remove the products
We reported the results of our button battery safety tests to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as well as the online marketplaces.
When we alerted Ali Express about our findings, the company rejected them as 'unsubstantiated' within hours. When we appealed that decision, our appeal was rejected. Both Amazon and eBay removed the products from their sites shortly after we reported them. We never heard back from Shein.
In May 2023, the ACCC issued its first penalties for violations of the button battery standards against The Reject Shop and Dusk totalling around $240,000. The retailers were selling novelty Halloween products that failed to adhere to the safety standard.
In October this year, the ACCC recalled three products with non-compliant button batteries. Two of them – light-up tombstones (sold by Oceana International) and light-up bouncing balls (sold at Coles supermarkets) – were Halloween themed. The third were mini LED flashlights (sold by online retailer Shein).
The battery can be removed from this Shein keychain without a tool, making that and other small parts accessible to children. It's also missing button battery warning labels.
The Wiggles sell thousands of non-compliant headbands
In more recent legal action, the ACCC compelled the famed Australian children's musical group The Wiggles earlier this month to admit it had breached regulations by selling thousands of Emma Bow headbands that lacked mandatory button battery safety warnings. The headbands were recalled in August 2024 and The Wiggles have agreed to produce an episode of its podcast "Wiggle Talk – A Podcast For Parents", which will cover the recall of the Emma Bow headband and discuss safety issues relating to button batteries and children's toys.
In two other cases this year, the ACCC issued eight infringement notices and $150,240 in penalties to Hungry Jack's for supplying a Garfield-themed toy that didn't comply with the safety standard, and commenced court proceedings against the retailer City Beach for selling 70 product lines with button batteries that were non-compliant.
This LED flashing mouth sold on eBay lacked mandatory button battery warning labels.
The long road to regulation
CHOICE has been campaigning on button battery safety since 2016, when we launched a petition in partnership with Kidsafe Queensland and The Parenthood calling on the government to introduce mandatory safety standards. This followed the deaths of four-year-old Summer Steer and 14-month-old Isabella Reese, both of whom had swallowed batteries. Isabella's mum, Alison Burns, became a tireless advocate for mandatory standards following the death of her daughter, setting up an organisation called Bella's Footprints to raise awareness and drive change.
According to Queensland Health, around 20 children a week around Australia are taken to the hospital due to a suspected button battery incident.
The ACCC issued a voluntary industry code for button battery safety, but it did little to reduce the risk of injury and death to children. Manufacturers generally ignored it.
Online marketplaces continue to undermine the effectiveness of strong mandatory standards by failing to ensure that the products they sell are compliant and safe
CHOICE deputy director of campaigns and communications Andy Kelly
In 2019, we tested 17 common household items – including ear thermometers, kitchen and bathroom scales, and remote controls – against the voluntary standard. Ten had unsecured batteries that could have easily been accessed and swallowed by children.
In 2020, Australia recorded its third button battery death. Three-year-old Brittney Conway died after swallowing a button battery that became lodged in her oesophagus, burning a hole through to her aorta.
It was clear that self-regulation wasn't working. But now that government regulation has been introduced, it's also clear that mandatory standards are one thing, and universal compliance is another.
"It's disappointing that online marketplaces continue to undermine the effectiveness of strong mandatory standards by failing to ensure that the products they sell are compliant and safe," says deputy director of campaigns and communications, Andy Kelly.
"That's why CHOICE is calling for stronger product safety laws that make it illegal for all companies to sell unsafe products – and online marketplaces should be no exception," says Kelly.
We're on your side
For more than 60 years, we've been making a difference for Australian consumers. In that time, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family. And our recent sunscreens test showed just how important it is to keep business claims in check.
So you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
Learn more about CHOICE membership today
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
