Consumer Goods (Self-balancing Scooters) Safety Standard 2016

Consumer Protection Notice No.7 of 2016

Competition and Consumer Act 2010

Part 1 - Preliminary

1. Name of Safety Standard

This safety standard is the Consumer Goods (Self-balancing Scooters) Safety Standard 2016.

2.        Commencement

This safety standard commences on 17 July 2016.

3.        Authority

This safety standard is made under section 104(1) of the Australian Consumer Law.

4.        End date

This safety standard will end on 16 July 2018.

5.        Purpose

This safety standard sets out specified safety requirements for self-balancing scooters.

Note: For the requirement to comply with a safety standard, see section 106 of the Australian Consumer Law.

6.        Definitions

In this safety standard:

Australian Consumer Law means Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

AS/NZS 60335.1:2011 means AS/NZS 60335.1:2011 (incorporating amendment Nos 1, 2 and 3) (IEC TEXT) Household and similar electrical appliances—Safety Part 1: General requirements (IEC 60335-1 Ed 5.1, MOD).

IEC 62133 means IEC 62133 Edition 2.0 2012-12 - Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes - Safety requirements for portable sealed secondary cells, and for batteries made from them, for use in portable applications.

IEC 60335-1 means IEC 60335-1 Edition 5.1 2013-12 Household and similar electrical appliances - Safety - Part 1: General requirements.

Self-balancing scooter means a two-wheeled ride on device with no steering grips, seats or handlebars which is powered by a lithium-ion battery that is rechargeable via connection to a mains power supply.

Note: Self-balancing scooters are also known as hoverboards, gliders, smart boards, sky walkers or mod boards.

UL 2272 means UL 2272 – Outline of Investigation for Electrical Systems for Self-Balancing Scooters, Issue Number: 1.

Part 2 – Safety Requirements

7.        Specific safety requirements

The requirements in (1) and (2) below are the specific safety requirements with which self-balancing scooters must comply:

(1)     The following International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards :

1. for batteries, as specified in IEC 62133; and
2. for battery control systems preventing electrical appliances from attaining excessive temperatures in normal use, as specified in section 11 as amended by Annex B, of IEC 60335-1 or as specified in section 11 as amended by Annex B, of AS/NZS 60335.1:2011; and
3. for battery control systems preventing abnormal operation of electrical appliances, as specified in section 19, as amended by Annex B, of IEC 60335-1 or as specified in section 19, as amended by Annex B, of AS/NZS 60335.1:2011;

or

(2)     the requirements specified in the following sections of the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) document UL 2272 for:

1. Fuses as specified in section 11 of UL 2272;
2. Protective circuits and safety analysis as specified in sub-sections 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4 and 15.5 of UL 2272;
3. Cells as specified in section 16 of UL 2272;
4. Overcharging as specified in section 23 of UL 2272;
5. Short circuit protection as specified in section 24 of UL 2272;
6. Temperature control as specified in section 26 of UL 2272; and
7. Cell imbalanced charging as specified in section 27 of UL 2272. 

8.        Incorporation of extrinsic material

The extrinsic material incorporated in this instrument is in force at the date of the commencement of this instrument, as follows:

(1)     IEC 62133, published in December 2012.

(2)     IEC 60335-1 published in December 2013.

(3)     AS/NZS 60335.1:2011, published on 29 April 2011 and reissued incorporating Amendment No. 1 (June 2012), Amendment No. 2 (November 2014) and Amendment No. 3 (November 2015).

(4)     UL 2272, published on 29 January 2016.

9.        Access to the incorporated extrinsic material

(1)     The IEC 62133 and IEC 60335-1 standards can be purchased from a variety of online sources including the IEC (webstore.iec.ch/), SAI Global (infostore.saiglobal.com/store/) and the International Organization for Standardization (www.iso.org/iso/store.htm).

(2)     The AS/NZS 60335.1 standard can be purchased from SAI Global (infostore.saiglobal.com/store/default.aspx).

(3)     The first edition of UL 2272 can be purchased from Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (www.comm-2000.com/).

(4)     The cost of these standards varies between AUD$120 and AUD$900. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) can make a copy of these standards available for public viewing by arrangement at an ACCC office, subject to licensing conditions.