As we turn the page on 2025, we explore the ACCC’s 2026 product safety priorities, against the backdrop of the record penalty awarded against City Beach in relation to non-compliant button battery products. Together with the recent Oodie and Hungry Jack’s infringement notices, the ACCC’s recent activities signal sharper enforcement ahead in the product safety space.
The ACCC’s 2025-26 priorities
For 2025–26, the ACCC identified five key product safety priorities to target high risk unsafe consumer goods and to raise public awareness:
1. Product safety in the digital economy
The ACCC aims to reduce high-risk unsafe products online and address layered harms in digital markets, being threats to physical safety, economic detriment, and loss of consumer trust. The ACCC plans to do this by:
- engaging directly with marketplaces to improve proactive controls
- strengthening and potentially expanding the Australian Product Safety Pledge (a voluntary commitment to report on consumer safety-oriented actions), and
- using data and intelligence to identify systemic risks and deploy education, regulation, compliance and enforcement where appropriate including coordinating with other regulators.
2. Consumer product safety issues for young children
The ACCC aims to tackle priority risks affecting young children, with a continued focus on compliance with the button battery standards and promoting awareness of new infant sleep and toppling furniture standards by:
- identifying and addressing systemic non-compliance (including through enforcement)
- leveraging outcomes for general deterrence and consumer awareness, and
- work with state and territory regulators to assess and address any non-compliance with new standards.
The ACCC is also running targeted awareness campaigns such as Sleep Bub Safe, which promotes infant safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
3. Updating mandatory product safety standards
The ACCC hopes to modernise product safety standards to improve safety, broaden choice and lower costs by aligning with contemporary international benchmarks by commencing expediated reviews from July 2025.
This is consistent with the Productivity Commission’s recently released study report which found benefits in aligning mandatory standards with international and overseas standards, including adding $1.1B – $3B to the economy per year.
4. Lithium‑ion battery safety
The ACCC also aims to reduce injury and fire risks from lithium-ion batteries across consumer products and home energy systems. The ACCC plans to do this by raising consumer awareness on safe battery purchase, charging and disposal. Regulatory reforms are also underway to reduce product safety risks.
5. Improving product safety data and intelligence
The ACCC aims to improve the quality, timeliness and sharing of product safety data to detect emerging risk sooner, especially for vulnerable consumers. The ACCC plans to do this by enhancing data sharing with regulators and stakeholders, monitoring risks associated with emerging technologies and conduct targeted consultation and research to understand risk impacts.
Online marketplaces
In an address to the National Consumer Congress in June 2025, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, the ACCC Chair, flagged unsafe products in online marketplaces as a core focus for the regulator in 2026. The Chair noted the presence of layered risks including physical harm, economic detriment and erosion of trust, and signalled a mix of education, compliance and enforcement to combat them, in conjunction with a strengthened Australian Product Safety Pledge.
As discussed in the address, the Chair highlighted how these priorities are grounded in live enforcement examples, including the following:
- In 2024, Oodie’s supplier, Davie Clothing Pty Ltd, paid more than $100,000 in penalties for allegedly supplying children’s beachwear without mandatory high fire danger labels. The penalties were paired with a court‑enforceable undertaking to bolster future compliance;
- In 2025, Hungry Jack’s paid approximately $150,000 in penalties for supplying 27,850 button‑battery‑powered Garfield toys without legally required warnings and information. Hungry Jack’s also provided an undertaking to implement a compliance program;
- The Wiggles admitted that the Emma Bow headband likely breached the ACL by failing to include mandatory safety warnings required for products containing button batteries. Following its admission, The Wiggles committed to raising awareness of dangers associated with button batteries;
- Tesla paid $155,460 over alleged failures to complete required safety testing of certain key fobs and illuminated door sills and to include required mandatory safety warnings; and
- The ACCC also commenced its first proceeding under the mandatory button battery safety regime against City Beach for allegedly supplying more than 57,000 non‑compliant products containing button batteries, which we discuss in further detail below.
Case Study: City beach (button batteries)
What happened?
The ACCC prosecuted Fewstone (trading as City Beach) alleging that it had supplied a wide range of button‑battery products that failed to meet mandatory safety and/or information standards between June 2022 and October 2024. The products included toys, digital notepads, keyrings, lights and light‑up “Jibbitz”, with more than 54,000 supplies across 60+ product types.
Outcome
The Federal Court found City Beach had contravened the ACL by supplying goods that were non-compliant with mandatory standards (in breach of section 106 of the Australian Consumer Law) and did not comply with information standards (section 136). The Court ordered a consumer law compliance programme, corrective advertising in connection with its voluntary recall, penalties of $14 million as well as granting injunctions and making declarations.
Why it matters
This is the first ACCC proceeding alleging breaches of the button battery safety standards. It confirms that the regulator will litigate where systemic non‑compliance persists, particularly for children’s products, where button batteries pose acute harm.
Senate Estimates: enforcement momentum and product safety focus
At Senate Estimates on 3 December 2025, the ACCC spoke to its strong enforcement momentum across competition, consumer and product safety. Highlights it noted to the Senate Committee included record penalties in cartel and fair-trading matters, proceedings addressing misleading conduct, and significant product safety enforcement, specifically noting the City Beach proceedings and Hungry Jack’s infringement notices for button battery information standard breaches.
The ACCC also reiterated that product safety affecting young children remains a priority and noted its ongoing campaign and recall coordination work. The Chair’s comments reiterated how the ACCC will continue to escalate systemic non‑compliance and leverage deterrent outcomes to lift market standards.
What this means for suppliers, platforms and brands
For online marketplaces and sellers, the bar for compliance is rising. Businesses can expect closer scrutiny of marketplace controls and takedown velocity under a strengthened Australian Product Safety Pledge, more proactive regulatory sweeps for high‑risk product categories, and swift escalation where unsafe listings persist.
For children’s products suppliers, ongoing attention to button battery standards, toppling furniture disclosures and infant sleep products is essential, with enforcement outcomes being used for general deterrence. For all suppliers, expedited standards reviews and increased referencing of international voluntary standards will modernise compliance pathways.
Key takeaways
- Online marketplaces in focus. Expect closer scrutiny of marketplace controls and takedown velocity under a strengthened Australian Product Safety Pledge, with targeted sweeps for high‑risk categories.
- Button batteries remain frontline. The first ACCC proceeding for alleged button battery safety standards (City Beach) and recent penalties underline zero‑tolerance for non‑compliance and inadequate warnings.
- Enforcement will escalate. Recent actions involving Oodie, Hungry Jack’s, The Wiggles and Tesla show that the ACCC will use infringement notices, undertakings and litigation to drive deterrence.
- Compliance must be proactive. Businesses must test products to ensure that they accord with applicable standards before supply, verify labels and warnings, and uplift governance over third‑party listings and recalls.
- Standards are modernising. Workstreams on updating mandatory standards and lithium‑ion battery safety are accelerating. Monitor revisions and implementation timelines.