Halloween has become incredibly popular in Australia, with children, and their parents, strolling around their neighbourhoods dressed in their scariest outfits.

As the evening of October 31 nears, people are being warned the costumes and decorations flying off shelves and being stuffed in postal bags over the coming days and weeks may be unsafe.

Western Australia’s Consumer Protection agency conducted an experiment where it purchased 12 products from a well-known online retailer, with about half of them deemed to breach Australia’s strict product safety laws.

The agency said it found dangerous button batteries, flammable clothing, and cosmetic products that failed to list ingredients on their packaging, making it harder for medical professionals to treat any allergic reactions.

Consumer Protection would not name the retailer because its investigation was still not complete, and possible legal action might follow.

But its commissioner Trish Blake said it was a crucial reminder for parents and caregivers to be diligent about children’s safety this Halloween.

“What is probably the most concerning for me is the continuous sale of button batteries in a way that is dangerous and non-compliant, because the risk of serious harm or fatality in that space is so significant,” Ms Blake said.

“If [children] swallow them, the results can be catastrophic, they can lead to serious burns, and holes in the oesophagus, and they can ultimately lead to death.

She said people should carefully interrogate where they were buying from and vet products before gifting them to children.

“Particularly if you’re buying it from an online retailer because that [product] may be coming from a jurisdiction that has a lower level of regulation than we do here in Australia.”

Halloween ‘never more marketable’ in Australia

The warning comes as the popularity of Halloween experiences a major boom in Australia.

University of Western Australia PhD student in marketing Ena Vejnovic says Halloween products have never been more marketable in Australia.

“I do think Halloween is bigger than ever here in Australia, especially in the last two or so years” she said.

“Mainly because of our accessibility to the internet, and the prominence of pop culture here in Australia.

“A lot of what we consume — influencers, movies, TV — it all pretty much comes from the US, so us seeing these things and the way they celebrate Halloween and take part in it, we have such easy access to it.

“We can also purchase things online from the US so if we’re consuming things off those other websites as well, we’re more prone to adopt these activities and Halloween-related products.”

Traditional shopping safer

Ms Blake said products from online purchases appeared to present the biggest risks, with investigations showing in-store retailers were more compliant with safety standards.

“We also did some in-store inspections, and the news there is much better,” she said.

“Our staff looked at 192 products and found that only two were non-compliant.

“So the in-store retailers, the bricks and mortar shops, are doing a much better job.”

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