Andrea Shoesmith has been campaigning for action to prevent children swallowing button batteries since her daughter died nine years ago, and next week she will finally see change.
In 2013 Ms Shoesmith's four-year-old daughter Summer Steer swallowed a button battery and began feeling unwell.
The Sunshine Coast mother did not see her ingest it, and after multiple misdiagnoses at the GP and hospital, Summer became the first person in Australia to die from a button battery incident.
"I just don't think people understand how dangerous [button batteries] are … it's like giving a child a loaded gun," Ms Shoesmith said.
"They're small, they're shiny, kids look at them like they're lollies, and unless you see them swallow it, it's too late."
Recognition of the danger posed by the batteries has come in the form of changed safety standards that come into effect on June 22.
Under the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) new standards it will be mandatory for all consumer goods that contain button batteries to have secure compartments that limit a child's ability to access them.
Suppliers of the button batteries themselves must use packaging that is similarly "child resistant", and all button-battery products must have safety warnings.
These standards will be enforced through mandatory compliance testing, and breaches will be penalised under Australian consumer law, which could result in a fine of up to $10 million.
Flat batteries still pose a risk
It was found that Summer had ingested a "flat" battery, which may not be able to power an item but can still emit enough charge to create a chemical reaction in her body.
Ms Shoesmith said police had checked all the items in her house but the source of the button battery that killed Summer was never identified, and she wondered whether her daughter had picked up the battery at a playground or in a car park.
"They're bloody everywhere," she said.
Melbourne mother Allison Rees, whose one-year-old daughter Isabella also died after swallowing a used button battery, campaigned for safer measures alongside Ms Shoesmith in Canberra in 2019.
"I'm pleased and I'm actually grateful that we've been listened to," Ms Rees said.
"However, in time, I would like them to go a little bit further."
Ms Shoesmith and Ms Rees said they want to see the implementation of safe disposal bins for button batteries, as well as regulations around their placement in retail stores.
"Batteries are lining the counters at shopping centres and supermarkets, next to lollies and food, and it sends the wrong message from a young age," Ms Rees said.
"They need to be kept up high and out of reach of children, behind doors or cupboards, so that it conditions us to think of them as dangerous."
Symptoms that indicate a child might have swallowed a button battery include choking, drooling, chest pains, nose bleeds, blood-stained saliva, unexplained vomiting and stomach pains.
If you suspect a child has swallowed a button battery, immediately call an ambulance on triple-0 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.
How to safely dispose of used button batteries
ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said it is a "world first" for button battery safety standards to be applied to "every type" of consumer good, including products imported from overseas.
"It's so that we can ensure that it is almost impossible, hopefully, for kids to get their hands on these batteries," she said.
"We've been doing a huge amount of education of suppliers, and we've already had 30 suppliers voluntarily recall their [unsafe] products."
Items that are exempt from the safety standards include hearing aids, IT equipment with button batteries soldered in place, and consumer goods that were supplied before the requirements became mandatory.
Button batteries can be found in many common household items such as toys, watches, remote controls, and digital thermometers.
Ms Rickard said the ACCC recognises used or spent batteries are "a serious hazard", but consumer laws cannot regulate how people use or dispose of a product.
She advises consumers to safely dispose of the batteries by sticky taping them on both sides.
The Battery Stewardship Council (BSC) estimates there are currently 67 million button batteries in Australian households.
Battery Stewardship Council CEO Libby Chaplin said it is supporting the ACCC's safety regulations by campaigning to enhance public awareness about the risks associated with button batteries, and developing safe drop-off points across Australia.
"Batteries can be hazardous, toxic, corrosive and flammable, therefore they should not be disposed of via current kerbside recycling or rubbish systems," she said.
The BSC launched a government-backed recycling scheme in February 2022, with more than 2,300 safe drop-off points for batteries nationwide, including at retailers such as Aldi, Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings, and Officeworks.
Products being removed from shelves
Ms Rickard said the ACCC has been working with suppliers since December, 2020 to help them prepare for the new standards.
The owner of the Crackerjack Toy Shop in Brisbane's north, Jo Wallace, said she had removed five products off her shelves ahead of the safety standards coming into effect.
"It's up to the retailers to ensure that that the products apply to the current safety standards," she said.
"If we can source the same product without button batteries, then we do."
More than 100 items with button batteries have also been recalled from large retailers like Kmart, Target and Big W.
