A new requirement for all goods powered by button batteries to be in a secured compartment has forced firearms industry wholesalers and retailers to adjust their products to meet the new standards. SSAA National has been in contact with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) to clarify the standard.
Consumer Goods (products containing button/coin batteries) Safety Standard 2020 is aimed at addressing the risk of children accessing and ingesting the coin battery which can cause death or serious injury in a short time. Feedback from the ACCC sought individual legal advice.
It said: “The requirement in Section 10 of the Standard to have a captive screw only applies to products that comply with a non-product specific industry standard or one of the product specific standards that include captive fastener requirements (e.g. the toy standards and luminaires standard). Products that meet the compliance requirements of one of the product specific standards that do not include captive fastener requirements are not required to comply with this requirement.”
In some recent good news in this area, Leupold products have recently been announced to be tested and fully compliant with the new regulations. Leupold product retailers can be found on the NIOA website.