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Australian Dangerous Goods Code and impact on Assistive Technology

By August 10th, 2022No Comments

ATSA has been working with the National Transport Commission in regard to the transport of mobility devices with batteries.

We are pleased to provide you with the following information:

  1. Under UN3171 Special provision 123, any type of batteries that are located in a mobility device[1] (either connected or unconnected) are exempt as a Dangerous Good.
  2. Under UN2800 Special Provision 238, wet non-spillable batteries such as gel batteries are exempt as a Dangerous Good.
  3. Lithium batteries that are not connected to a mobility device are not exempt and are considered a Dangerous Good.   When organising transport for these types of batteries, ATSA recommends the use of a specialist delivery firm.

As the Dangerous Goods Code is extremely complex, it may be that some couriers/transport firms are not aware of these Special Provisions.  To minimise the risk of couriers charging a dangerous good transport fee for items 1 and 2, we recommend you state the device is exempt from the Dangerous Goods Code and include a reference to the UN code and Special Provision on your invoice/request to the courier/transport company.

Should you require further information to provide to the firms, please refer them to the evidence provided in Attachment 1.


[1] For classification as UN3171, the mobility device must meet the relevant provisions of Special Provision 388.