Dusk: ACCC pursues candles retailer for sale of thousands of non-compliant button battery items

The consumer watchdog has taken Dusk to court alleging the home fragrance and candles retailer sold thousands of products that did not comply with button battery standards.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also alleged Dusk breached a court-enforceable undertaking it had previously provided to the regulator.

It is alleged that between May 2023 and December 2024, Dusk supplied 66,453 products, comprising of 29 different product lines, that did not comply with mandatory button battery safety and information standards.

These items included candles, diffusers, tealights, snow globes and other LED products — many of which were Christmas, Easter or Halloween-themed.

The ACCC said these may have been attractive to young children, who were most at risk of harm from button batteries.

“Button batteries can cause catastrophic injuries or death if swallowed by young children, so it is crucial that businesses take their product safety obligations seriously,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said on Wednesday.

“Failing to test products for compliance with the mandatory button battery standards before supply to consumers creates an unacceptable safety risk, particularly for young children.”

The ACCC alleges 25 of the product lines sold were not tested prior to supply to consumers, as required under the mandatory safety standard.

In addition, four product lines failed to include the safety warnings. This meant consumers did not receive information the products contained button batteries.

By 10.30am, shares in Dusk have plummeted 9.3 per cent to 68¢ as investors reacted to the news.

In a statement, Dusk said it had not identified reports of harm to customers associated with the products sold. The retailer said it continued to monitor customer feedback and would respond appropriately to any concerns raised.

“Dusk takes product safety seriously and has co-operated fully with the ACCC throughout its investigation,” Dusk said.

In April 2023, the ACCC accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Dusk over a similar issue in which the retailer supplied Halloween-themed novelty products containing button batteries that did not comply with the mandatory safety standards.

As part of that earlier matter, Dusk paid $106,560 in penalties after the ACCC issued eight infringement notices relating to non-compliant button battery product lines.

“We are extremely concerned as Dusk allegedly supplied tens of thousands of products that did not comply with button battery standards designed to protect young children who are most at risk of serious injury, despite having previously given an undertaking to the ACCC that it would not do so,” Ms Lowe said.

The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, costs and an order requiring Dusk to pay an amount reflecting any financial benefit it obtained from the alleged breaches, and other orders.