Overview
On 15 April 2026, Standards Australia announced the development of a new Used Lithium-ion Battery Packaging and Transport Guide, developed in collaboration with the Association for the Battery Recycling Industry (ABRI). The guide is intended to provide clear, nationally consistent direction for commercial businesses packaging and sending end-of-life lithium-ion batteries to recyclers. On the same date, the Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA), acting on behalf of the Heads of EPAs Australia and New Zealand (HEPA), opened public consultation on a separate but complementary National Guideline for the Safe Management of End-of-life Lithium-ion Batteries. Together, these two developments represent a significant coordinated national response to what industry stakeholders have described as a growing “tsunami” of end-of-life battery waste.
The timing is not incidental. Lithium-ion battery fires at waste transfer stations, recycling facilities, and in transport vehicles have escalated sharply in Australia and internationally as the volume of end-of-life batteries from consumer electronics, e-bikes, e-scooters, power tools, and electric vehicles continues to grow. These fires are notoriously difficult to suppress, can reignite hours or days after initial suppression, and generate toxic combustion products including hydrogen fluoride gas. For environmental professionals, waste operators, and corporate sustainability teams, the absence of a consistent national framework has made advising clients on battery waste logistics a complex and jurisdiction-dependent exercise.
The dual rollout of the Standards Australia transport guide and the HEPA National Guideline is significant for practitioners across contaminated land, waste management, ESG consulting, and facility risk assessment. These documents are expected to establish the baseline against which commercial battery handling, packaging, and transport practices will be measured. The consultation window opened by the Victorian EPA on 15 April 2026 is a direct opportunity for practitioners and their clients to influence the final form of nationally harmonised requirements before they are locked in.
Key details
The Standards Australia Used Lithium-ion Battery Packaging and Transport Guide is being developed with direct input from ABRI, the peak body representing the battery recycling sector in Australia. The initiative specifically targets commercial businesses that generate end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and need to package and transport those batteries to recyclers. Standards Australia’s announcement characterises this as filling a nationally consistent guidance gap, with the guide intended to reduce fire risk during the transport phase of the battery lifecycle. The expected completion date for the guide had not been confirmed in the primary source announcement at the time of publication.
The HEPA National Guideline for the Safe Management of End-of-life Lithium-ion Batteries was released for public consultation on 15 April 2026. The Victorian EPA is administering this consultation process on behalf of HEPA, which comprises the environment protection authorities of all Australian states and territories, as well as New Zealand. HEPA guidelines, while not themselves legally binding instruments, typically inform and align state and territory regulatory practice, which means that once finalised, this guideline is likely to set the de facto standard for how EPAs across the country assess and regulate the management of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. Practitioners and interested parties can engage with the consultation through the Engage Victoria platform.
The fire risk profile of damaged, degraded, or improperly handled lithium-ion batteries is well established. Thermal runaway, the self-sustaining exothermic reaction that occurs when a lithium-ion cell is compromised, can be triggered by physical damage, overcharging, exposure to heat, or internal cell failure. Once initiated, thermal runaway is extremely difficult to arrest and can spread from one cell to adjacent cells in a pack or to adjacent batteries in storage or transport. Suppression typically requires large volumes of water applied directly to the battery, and even after apparent suppression, reignition risk can persist for 24 to 72 hours. Combustion products include toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds, creating serious occupational health and environment risks at waste facilities and on transport vehicles.
The waste stream generating this risk is growing rapidly. Australia’s uptake of electric vehicles, e-bikes, e-scooters, residential battery storage systems, and consumer electronics means that the volume of lithium-ion batteries reaching end of life will increase substantially over the coming decade. Batteries vary significantly in chemistry, form factor, state of charge, and physical condition when they enter the waste stream, which creates heterogeneous risk profiles that a single, consistent national framework is well placed to address. The Standards Australia guide and the HEPA National Guideline together address two distinct but related phases: the packaging and transport phase, and the broader lifecycle management phase from collection through to final processing.
Australian context: HEPA consultation, state EPA frameworks, and circular economy regulation
Australia currently manages hazardous waste, including end-of-life batteries, under a combination of state and territory environment protection legislation, the National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste between States and Territories) Measure (Controlled Waste NEPM), and various state EPA guidelines and codes of practice. The Controlled Waste NEPM classifies certain battery chemistries as controlled waste, meaning their interstate transport is subject to notification and tracking requirements administered by the relevant state and territory EPAs.
References and related sources
- Primary source: www.standards.org.au
How iEnvi can help
iEnvi provides specialist consulting services relevant to this topic. Our team includes CEnvP Site Contamination Specialists with experience across contaminated land, groundwater, remediation, ecology, and regulatory compliance.
- iEnvi ESG services
- iEnvi contaminated land investigation services
- iEnvi remediation and validation services
- iEnvi expert services and independent review services
This is an iEnvi Machete news summary. Prepared by iEnvi to summarise the source article for contaminated land, groundwater, remediation, approvals and site risk professionals.
Published: 18 Apr 2026
Need advice on this topic? Speak to an iEnvi expert at hello@ienvi.com.au or 1300 043 684, or contact us online.
Need advice on this issue? iEnvi provides practical, senior-led environmental consulting across contaminated land, remediation, ecology and environmental risk.
Contaminated land services Remediation services Groundwater services Ecology consulting Talk to iEnvi