Battery fires increase, prompting national battery stewardship

Australia’s environment ministers have signalled a shift towards nationally harmonised battery stewardship, prioritising exploration of a mandatory approach as battery-related fire risks continue to increase.

At the Environment Ministers’ Meeting, ministers agreed to assess options for nationally consistent product stewardship arrangements at their next meeting, with batteries identified as a priority area. The communiqué from the meeting also recognised the growing incidence of battery-related fires and noted the commencement of NSW’s mandatory battery stewardship scheme from 1 October 2026.

“Ministers have recognised what the data is already showing. Lithium-ion battery-related fire risk is increasing, and fragmented approaches are no longer fit for purpose,” said Battery Stewardship Council (BSC) Chair Peter Bruce. “A nationally consistent approach, including mandatory stewardship, is the next step to improve safety outcomes and ensure the system can operate at the scale required.”

Bruce said NSW’s upcoming scheme provides an important foundation for national alignment.

“NSW is demonstrating how stewardship can be implemented in practice. The opportunity now is to build a consistent framework across jurisdictions that reduces complexity and strengthens outcomes,” he said.

“Fragmented policy creates unnecessary cost and uncertainty. Greater consistency will help reduce barriers to participation, support investment and enable the development of long-term domestic capability.”

BSC said it will continue working with governments and industry to support the design and implementation of a nationally consistent battery stewardship framework.

Image credit: iStock.com/Anton Pentegov