Lithium-ion Batteries - Issues Paper

Overview

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is scoping product safety issues and potential hazard prevention strategies in relation to lithium-ion batteries as one of our product safety priority areas for 2022-23. As part of this process, the ACCC has released an Issues Paper (available below) for consultation.

The ACCC is concerned about the increasing number of reports of incidents involving lithium-ion batteries, causing serious injuries and property damage.

To further understand the hazards of lithium-ion batteries, the ACCC is seeking submissions from stakeholders in response to the questions outlined in the Issues Paper.

You may answer some or all of questions posed, or can raise a matter not explicitly addressed, where it is relevant to the safety of lithium-ion batteries. Consultation questions are listed in the relevant sections of the paper and at page 5 and 6. If you are a consumer, you may wish to focus on questions 4 to 8, as these are the questions that are most relevant to consumer experiences (but are also relevant to other stakeholders).

Your feedback to this Issues Paper, together with further targeted consultation and research, will inform the ACCC’s final report, in which the ACCC will identify potential risk mitigation strategies in relation to lithium-ion batteries.

Please visit Product Safety Australia for further information about lithium-ion batteries, including consumer safety guidance and background regarding the ACCC’s work on this issue.

How to make a submission 

It is preferred that submissions to the questions set out in the issues paper are made using the online form. If you wish to provide additional information via a document, please do so using the consultation hub file upload function.

Alternatively, submissions can be lodged by post or email to:

Director                                                                                                                    Lithium-ion Batteries Project                                                                        Consumer Product Safety Division                                                              Australian Competition & Consumer Commission                                              GPO Box 3131
Canberra ACT 2601

Email: lithiumbatteries@accc.gov.au

Please include your name, organisation and contact details when making a submission.

All submissions will be treated as public documents and published on the ACCC website, http://www.productsafety.gov.au/, unless otherwise requested. Parties wishing to submit confidential information are requested to:

• clearly identify the information that is the subject of the confidentiality claim – the identified information must be genuinely of a confidential nature and not otherwise publicly available
• provide a non-confidential version of the submission in a form suitable for publication – this public version should identify where confidential information has been redacted.

The ACCC will not disclose the confidential information to third parties, other than advisers or consultants engaged directly by the ACCC, except where permitted or required by law. The general policy of the ACCC on the collection, use and disclosure of information is set out in the ACCC/AER Information Policy (June 2014).

Accessibility

If you have any difficulty accessing any of the information on this page or viewing the associated document, please refer to our website’s accessibility information. Alternatively, contact us by phone on 1300 302 502 or email at lithiumbatteries@accc.gov.au.

What happens next

Published responses

View submitted responses.