ABRI Guidelines
These guidelines are provided for information and general guidance only. They do not override any legislative obligations or duties of individuals or organisations involved in battery supply chains. Users of the guidelines are responsible for obtaining their own legal, professional, and safety advice to ensure compliance with all applicable legal and commercial responsibilities.
Used Lithium Batteries: Guidance on Safe Packaging and Transport by Road and Rail
ABRI, in collaboration with Powering Australia and Standards Australia, has supported a new Used Lithium Battrery guidanc covering packaging, documentation, transport obligations and safety practices across all eight Australian jurisdictions. It is a guideline not a standard to support the safe, compliant, and sustainable transport of used lithium batteries across Australian road and rail networks. It provides foundational guidance on the regulatory requirements, packaging obligations, documentation procedures, and safety practices.
This Guide is written for commercial organisations proactively involved in the collection, packaging, and land transport of used lithium batteries for recycling, disposal, reuse, or repair. It is not written for residential consumers. This Guide is not intended to apply to batteries incorrectly or inappropriately disposed of in another wastestream. The principal audience segments and their primary responsibilities are as follows:
Collection point operators: battery triage, initial packaging, and labelling.
Logistics coordinators and dispatchers: dangerous goods documentation, waste tracking, and carrier engagement.
Transport operators and drivers: vehicle requirements, placarding, load restraint, and emergency response.
Consolidation hub operators: storage obligations, WHS thresholds, and intermodal handover.
Compliance managers: legal compliance across all regulatory layers
ABRI Guidelines: Packaging and safe transport of used lead acid batteries (ULAB)
This Guideline is for collectors and aggregators of used lead acid battery (ULAB) to assist them undertake safe packing and transporting practices when sending ULAB to processors/recyclers.
In this Guideline, the Association for the Battery Recycling Industry (ABRI) seeks to provide an overview of the typical ULAB packaging, transport, and work safety practices.
Each user of this Guideline must undertake their own risk assessment and due diligence, to identify the circumstances specific to their business activities and consequently the requirements that apply. The business providing transport and/or the ULAB recycler will also be well placed to advise on individual packaging and transport requirements.
This Guideline is focused on land transport. The information in this Guideline is valid at October 2023. However, regulations can change at any time, and you should check the relevant legislation and supporting instruments.
This Guide replaces the ABRI Packaging and Safe Transport of Used Lead Acid Battery – Recycling Batteries Guideline – 1 November 2020.
A general overview of lead acid battery recycling can be found in the Basel Convention Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management of Lead-Acid batteries available here. The Basel Convention Guidelines were published in 2003 and are currently undergoing review.
