Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Kelly O'Dwyer has today imposed an interim ban to prevent the supply of hoverboards that do not meet safety standards for batteries and related circuits.
Minister O’Dwyer took this action after advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that unsafe hoverboards create an imminent risk of death or serious injury.
The interim ban will last for 60 days. The ACCC will consult further with hoverboard suppliers and electrical safety experts to consider future action to ensure the ongoing safety of these products.
“The ACCC has advised of four house fires in Australia directly linked to hoverboards resulting in the destruction of two houses,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
“Specifically, the ACCC’s investigation found there are fire safety risks from defective charging devices, electrical circuitry and substandard lithium-ion batteries in hoverboards.
“The interim ban sets out the safety requirements for batteries and battery control systems that hoverboards must meet in order to be sold in Australia.
“Consumers should not charge or use their hoverboards unless their supplier confirms that their hoverboard meets those safety requirements.
“If a supplier’s hoverboards do not meet those requirements, they are unable to sell the product during the interim ban period.
“In recent months, many hoverboard suppliers have announced product safety recalls after electrical safety regulators identified non-compliant charging devices. This ban however, requires hoverboard batteries and their circuits to be safe by meeting appropriate standards.
“I encourage consumers to visit the ACCC website for further information including whether your hoverboard has been recalled,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
Retailers and suppliers can find further information about how the ban affects them and what they should do on the ACCC website.
In January, Minister O’Dwyer issued a Safety Warning Notice on hoverboards announcing the ACCC investigation.