Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) has made its mark on the world stage, leading the State’s expansion into battery-powered personal e-transporters, such as electric scooters (e-scooters).
Chairperson and Commissioner of ESV, Marnie Williams said the popularity of e-scooters was increasing as a convenient way to travel short distances, avoid traffic and reduce reliance on public and private transport.
Ms Williams said the expanded international safety requirements for e-transporters, including lithium batteries and compatibility for power supplies, ensured that safety and correct charging characteristics were met.
“The Standard also includes requirements for water ingress, temperature and vibration testing to ensure electrical components do not come loose, overheat or become contaminated during use,” Ms Williams said.
“The process started in November 2016, following a number of Victorian housefires and recalls involving hoverboards,” she said.
“This prompted ESV to develop Australia’s first electrical safety requirements for battery-powered self-balancing personal transport devices, which led to a 12-month ban on hoverboards that did not comply.”
Ms Williams said the requirements were then used to establish the first Australian and New Zealand Standards and were also submitted to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for development of an international standard.
She said the new safety standard included e-scooters, electric skateboards and self-balancing transport devices, such as hoverboards and monocycles.
“In 2023, Australia is expected to adopt the international safety standard,” the Commissioner said.
“Further work is underway internationally to develop additional standards for the performance, reliability and other safety-related requirements for these devices,” she said.
“As the popularity and use of e-scooters and other personal e-transporters grows around the world, so will the reliance on new standards to keep the community safe.”
Ms Williams said ESV would continue to play a leading role in using regulation and standardisation to provide safer outcomes for emerging technologies.
