Many children’s toys being sold online fail to meet button-battery safety standards, putting kids at risk of serious injury or death, according to Choice.

Only seven of 24 novelty toys bought from online marketplaces including Shein, AliExpress, eBay and Amazon passed the consumer group’s latest tests.

Choice director of campaigns Rosie Thomas said the safety failures across the 17 other products included “batteries that were able to be accessed without the use of a tool, absence of safety alerts or warning statements, and screws which did not remain with the battery compartment cover when the compartment was opened”.

“Button batteries can cause catastrophic injuries within hours if swallowed, so it is highly concerning to see products like this continue to be sold,” Thomas said.

Toys that failed the tests included rubber bath toys and a keychain sold on Amazon; a fidget spinner, toy torch and shoes available on eBay; slatted glasses and a spin top from Shein, and a writing pad, toy watch and video game from AliExpress.

Two other toys from Amazon and five purchased from Kogan passed the tests.

World-first mandatory button safety standards came into effect in Australia in 2022 after several reported deaths and numerous injuries resulting from children swallowing the batteries. As well as posing a choking hazard, they can potentially cause internal burns and tissue damage.

The rules require manufacturers selling products containing button batteries to make sure they are in secure compartments children can’t access, and to include warnings and emergency advice on packaging about the danger the batteries pose.

Choice, which has been campaigning on button battery safety for almost 10 years, has reported the findings of its tests to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the online marketplaces concerned.

“When we contacted the retailers, AliExpress rejected our findings as unsubstantiated,” Thomas said.

“While Amazon and eBay removed the dangerous items shortly after we alerted them, they never should have been allowed to be sold in the first place. If Choice hadn’t tested them, it’s likely they would still be available for purchase.”

Thomas said online marketplaces were repeatedly failing to ensure the products they sold were safe, adding that stronger product safety laws were urgently needed to make it illegal for all companies to sell unsafe products.

Shein said it identified the products in question and delisted them in accordance with its standard protocol.

These toys sold on Amazon failed the tests. Photo: Choice

Children’s group The Wiggles admitted this month that they had breached regulations by selling a popular yellow-and-black headband for kids – the Emma Wiggle headband – without warning parents about the dangers of button batteries.

The headband, which has four flashing lights powered by batteries, was sold between June 2022 and March 2024.

It was recalled in August 2024 by manufacturer CA Australia amid safety concerns for young children who could choke by ingesting the batteries.

The group and the manufacturer were given a slap on the wrist by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, with the watchdog’s Catriona Lowe saying button batteries posed a significant risk to vulnerable young children.

“Without a warning on the product, parents may not have known it contained button batteries and not understood the severity of the risk,” she said.

“If swallowed, a button battery can become stuck in a child’s throat and result in catastrophic injuries, and even death, in as little as two hours.”