Safety First: ACCC Targets Online Marketplaces and Child Hazards in 2025-26

On 27 June 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced its comprehensive product safety priorities for 2025-26.

Each year, the ACCC identifies product safety priorities to target the highest priority risks posed by unsafe consumer goods and to raise public awareness.

In this regards, ACCC’s key focus areas for 2025-26 are:

1. Digital economy
2. Young children
3. Mandatory standards
4. Lithium-ion battery safety
5. Improving product safety data to identify risks and protect consumers

These enforcement priorities are not unexpected as the ACCC has been monitoring some of these priorities for a number of years. For example, in 2022, the Button Battery safety standard came into effect which was implemented as a result of injuries in children where such batteries have been swallowed or ingested.

Since then, the ACCC has taken a number of enforcement actions against retailers that have breached this mandatory standard.

Similarly, enforcement actions have been taken against online retailers that have made false or misleading representations about sale prices or entitlements/benefits that consumer could potentially derive from such online products.

We discuss these key focus areas further below.

1. Digital economy

The ACCC’s implementation strategy encompasses:

• Platform engagement: to actively engage with online marketplaces to encourage proactive measures ensuring that products supplied through their platforms meet safety standards. This collaborative approach recognises the significant role that digital platforms play in modern commerce and their responsibility in maintaining consumer safety.
• Australian Product Safety Pledge Enhancement: to strengthen commitments under the existing Australian Product Safety Pledge to ensure ongoing effectiveness, whilst also assessing the suitability of expanding the pledge to additional online marketplaces. This initiative demonstrates the ACCC's commitment to working with industry to establish voluntary standards that exceed minimum regulatory requirements.
• Data-Driven Risk Identification: to utilise data and intelligence to identify systemic and high-risk consumer product safety concerns and addressing these through a comprehensive toolkit including regulation, education, compliance and enforcement measures where appropriate.
• International Collaboration: recognising the global nature of online commerce, the ACCC will continue collaborative work with regulators across Australia and internationally to address the sale of unsafe products online.

2. Safety of young children

The ACCC’s implementation strategy encompasses:

• Button Battery Standards Compliance: to identify and address systemic non-compliance with button battery standards, recognising the serious risks these products pose to young children. This includes pursuing compliance and enforcement outcomes to ensure industry adherence to safety requirements.
• New Standards Promotion: to promote compliance with recently introduced toppling furniture and infant sleep standards, working collaboratively with state and territory regulators to assess and address any non-compliance. This coordinated approach ensures consistent enforcement across jurisdictions.
• Deterrence and Awareness: to leverage enforcement outcomes for general deterrence whilst simultaneously raising consumer awareness of product safety hazards affecting children.

3. Mandatory standards

This third priority focusses on updating and modernising existing mandatory standards to improve safety, broaden consumer choice and reduce costs. This reflects the ACCC’s commitment to ensuring that Australian safety standards remain current and effective in protecting consumers.

4. Lithium-ion battery safety

The ACCC’s implementation strategy encompasses:

• Consumer Awareness Campaigns: continuing to priorities consumer education about safe use of lithium-ion batteries.
• Regulatory Reform Contribution: to contribute to reform programs designed to improve lithium-ion battery safety, including supporting the development of a harmonised national framework by state electrical safety regulators.
• Standards Development: to support the development of effective and appropriate standards relating to testing, composition and disposal of lithium-ion batteries, taking account of existing specialist expertise.
• Recall Monitoring: to monitor the effectiveness of recalls of unsafe lithium-ion battery products.

5. Data-driven risk identification and consumer protection

The ACCC’s implementation strategy encompasses:

• Stakeholder Collaboration: to work with regulators and key stakeholders to obtain and appropriately share product safety data and intelligence, with particular focus on high-risk product safety issues and ensuring timeliness and accuracy of data.
• Emerging Technology Monitoring: to monitor product safety incidents and risks associated with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and digitally connected products. This forward-looking approach ensures the ACCC remains prepared for new safety challenges.
• Incident Reporting Enhancement: to implement strategies to increase reporting of product safety incidents to the ACCC, including awareness raising and compliance and enforcement measures where appropriate.
• Consumer-Focused Research: to conduct consultation and research to better understand product safety risks affecting Australian consumers, with particular focus on vulnerable consumers, and taking proactive steps to reduce harm.

Businesses should take note of these priorities for 2025-26 and ensure continued compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).