The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will make unsafe products sold through online marketplaces a central focus of its product safety work in 2025–26, ACCC Chair Gina Cass‑Gottlieb announced at the National consumer Congress in Melbourne.
“Reducing the prevalence of high‑risk unsafe consumer products online will be key. We will focus on systemic and high‑risk product safety issues for consumers. And we will use a combination of regulation, education for consumers and for businesses, compliance and enforcement tools, where appropriate,” Ms Cass‑Gottlieb said.
She said tackling digital market risks was a priority because of the range of harms they can create. “The risks in the digital economy are layered, they include not only physical harm from unsafe or non‑compliant goods, but also the associated economic harm and decline in consumer trust in markets.”
“Addressing these harms is essential to maintaining trust in digital markets and ensuring those markets are competitive and safe,” Ms Cass‑Gottlieb said.
The ACCC set out five product safety priorities for the year ahead: unsafe products in the digital economy, consumer and product safety issues affecting young children, lithium‑ion battery safety, updating mandatory standards, and improving product safety data to better identify risks.
Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said protecting young children would remain a major focus. “The ACCC will continue to prioritise product safety affecting young children, who can be at greater risk of injury or death from consumer products,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. “We will focus on compliance with button battery standards and continue to raise awareness about new infant sleep and toppling furniture standards.”
“The dangers of button batteries, unstable furniture, and unsafe infant sleep products impact families every day and we want to ensure the standards don’t just exist, but are understood, implemented and enforced so children are kept safe,” Ms Lowe said.
The regulator will also sustain attention on lithium‑ion batteries, which power mobile phones, e‑bikes and home solar systems and have been linked to fires and other serious incidents. “Raising consumer awareness about the safe purchase, storage, use and disposal of lithium‑ion batteries, and monitoring recalls of unsafe lithium‑ion battery products, will be another major focus this year,” Ms Lowe said.
From July 2025 the ACCC will begin expedited reviews of existing mandatory standards following recent amendments to the Australian Consumer Law. The review process will consider whether voluntary overseas or international standards should be added as compliance options, a move the ACCC says could modernise standards and lower compliance costs for businesses.
Improving product safety data is another key aim. The ACCC plans to increase reporting of product safety incidents, enhance data sharing with other regulators and stakeholders, and undertake new consultations and research to better understand risks to Australian consumers.
“The priorities I have outlined today reflect the environment we’re operating in – one defined by digital acceleration and rising complexity,” Ms Cass‑Gottlieb said. “These priorities are designed to respond to known harms, and to anticipate the emerging risks that could shape the future of consumer safety. They reflect our commitment to protect Australian consumers and build and maintain their trust in markets in an era of change and uncertainty.”
The ACCC said it will continue to work closely with other regulators and expand the Australian Product Safety Pledge — the voluntary scheme used to remove unsafe products from signatory online marketplaces — by strengthening commitments and reporting requirements. More detail and the full list of product safety priorities are available on the ACCC’s website, along with a transcript of Ms Cass‑Gottlieb’s address.
