Button Battery Safety & Compliance

All round, flat, disc like batteries are known as button and coin cell batteries.

Regardless of their size, voltage or type, all button and coin cell batteries are hazardous. They must be kept out of reach of children at all times, whether they are new or used.

• 3 children have died in Australia due to button battery ingestion

• 1000 children per year are rushed to Australian emergency departments after ingesting or inserting button batteries

• Swallowing can lead to serious injury or death in less than 2 hours

• 1 child per month sustains a serious injury

• The average shelf life of a button battery is 10 years and the batteries can cause severe injuries and death even if flat. 

In line with our purpose, due to the high risk nature of these batteries we have taken the decision to ban their use in ALL OWN BRAND products. 

For ALL vendor branded products containing or powered by button batteries we require:

1. Vendors to consider alternatives to button batteries, and replace with safer alternatives wherever possible. We may require button batteries that are not necessary to the long term functioning of the product to be removed- e.g. button batteries used for 'Try me Now' functions, and packaging features 

2. Vendors to identify that their products contain button batteries when offered to Big W. You must know and understand exactly how your product is powered and include this information on all submissions.

3. Vendors to ensure the button battery field in the new line form marked in red in the image below is completed with an X if the product has a button battery. This field is in the general data section. 

4. Vendors to review the compliance of their products against the ACCC mandatory standards AND our QA checklist.

5. Vendors to complete the relevant sections of the QA Checklist for products containing button batteries (REQUIRED BY ALL VENDORS, REGARDLESS OF RISK CLASSIFICATION) and submit to your Quality Partner or Specialist along with high resolution digital copies of your artwork and test reports.