- Published:
- Thursday 23 June 2016
Hoverboards will be banned from sale in Victoria unless they meet stringent new safety requirements.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio announced today that Victoria will introduce new requirements from 1 July that require suppliers of self-balancing scooters (hoverboards) to apply to Energy Safe Victoria for a Certificate of Compliance before sale.
The proposed safety requirements will be the same as those applied to mains-powered household appliances, such as refrigerators and heaters, and will ensure the compatibility of the power supply, the batteries and the unit itself.
Suppliers will be able to advertise the fact they have a certificate so the public will be able to clearly identify products that meet the required safety standards.
This information will also be stored on the national certification database, which can be searched by the public.
Hoverboards that don’t have a Certificate of Compliance will be banned.
Compliance with Victoria’s new requirements will also ensure products meet the requirements of the ACCC's current national ban.
Victoria was also leading the way in drafting a proposed new national electrical safety standard for hoverboards through the EL-002 Standards Committee, which is likely to be published by the end of the year.
That draft standard was recently presented at a meeting of the international committee for electrical appliance standards, which is currently preparing an international standard for hoverboards.
Further details on the recall are available at www.esv.vic.gov.au (opens in a new window)
Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio
“The Andrews Labor Government is taking positive steps to ensure that Victorians are safe. We’ve already seen one house fire in Victoria due to a non-compliant battery charger and cord sold with a hoverboard, and we don’t want any more.”
“This Certificate of Compliance will ensure consumers can clearly see the product they are buying is approved and safe for use.”