Product safety
Most of what we sell is an accessory. Some of it is safety equipment, and one category carries a mandatory Australian standard. This page sets out which is which, what we check before anything goes on sale, and the handful of things that genuinely can hurt you if they're used wrong.
The one mandatory standard that applies to us
Australia sets mandatory safety standards for a small list of products. Exactly one of them covers something we sell.
2063:2020
The full title is "Helmets for use on bicycles and wheeled recreational devices" — which is why it covers e-scooters, skateboards and similar as well as bikes. It's a mandatory standard, not a voluntary one: supplying a non-compliant bicycle helmet in Australia breaches the law.
Every helmet we list is certified to it, and we hold the supplier's certificate. If we can't produce a certificate, the helmet doesn't get listed — at any price, from any supplier, however good the margin looks. There is no budget tier in that collection and there never will be.
What the standard does not do is make a helmet suitable for every activity. It is not a motorcycle standard. Some states require a motorcycle-rated helmet above certain e-scooter speeds — that's a road rule, and your road authority is the only source that counts.
What happens before a product goes on sale
Four steps, and any one of them can stop a listing.
Ask for the paperwork
Certificate, test report or compliance declaration — with a number, an issuing body and a date. "It's certified" in an email isn't paperwork.
Check the edition
A certificate against a superseded standard is worth nothing. For helmets that means 2063:2020, not 2008.
Write the honest spec
Mount standard, load rating, what it's rated for and what it isn't. If we can't state a limit clearly, we don't list it.
Say no where needed
No certificate, no listing. This has already cost us products we wanted to sell and it will again.
Uncertified helmets — repeatedly, and they're cheap and they sell. Knee pads marketed as "impact armour" without any rating behind the claim. Locks described as "unbreakable". Anything electrical for an e-scooter.
We mention it not to be congratulated but because a shop that has never turned down a product isn't checking.
Is your helmet still doing its job?
A helmet is single-impact protection. The liner crushes to absorb energy and does not recover — which means a helmet that looks perfect can already be spent. Answer four questions.
Your helmet
This applies to any helmet, not just ones bought from us.
Fitting it properly
- Level, about two fingers above the eyebrows — not tipped back
- Side straps form a V just under each ear
- Chin strap snug: one finger fits underneath, no more
- Rear dial tightened until it stops moving when you shake your head
Kids' helmets
Never buy a size up to last longer. It's the most common mistake with children's helmets and it removes most of the protection you paid for.
Take the helmet off at the playground. Bike helmets have been implicated in strangulation incidents on play equipment — the straps and shell can catch. Helmet on for riding, off for climbing.
What certification isn't
A certificate means the model passed defined tests. It does not mean the helmet on your head is protecting you — a certified helmet worn loose or tipped back does very little.
Fit is the part only you control, and it matters more than the price difference between any two helmets we sell.
Lithium battery safety
We don't sell batteries, chargers or any e-scooter electrical part — and this is the section we most want you to read anyway.
The most dangerous thing you own isn't from us
Lithium-ion battery fires in e-scooters and e-bikes are a recognised and growing fire risk in Australia. They are fast, extremely hot, hard to extinguish, and they most often start during or after charging — frequently overnight, in a hallway, next to the only way out of the house.
We sell accessories, so we have no commercial reason to raise this. We're raising it because our customers charge a battery indoors most nights and a lot of them have never been told any of it.
Do
- Charge on a hard, non-flammable surface — not on a bed, couch or carpet
- Charge while you're awake and at home, and unplug when it's full
- Charge away from doorways and exits, so a fire never blocks your way out
- Use the charger it came with, or a manufacturer-approved replacement
- Let it cool down after a ride before plugging it in
- Install working smoke alarms where you charge
Don't
- Never charge overnight while everyone's asleep
- Don't keep using a battery that is swollen, leaking, hot or smells odd — stop immediately
- Don't use a cheap generic charger or a damaged cable
- Don't charge a wet scooter or battery
- Don't open, modify or repair a battery pack — ever
- Don't put a damaged battery in a household or recycling bin
If a battery starts smoking, swelling or making noise: get everyone out, close the door behind you, and call 000 from outside. Don't try to move it and don't try to put it out.
General guidance only — follow your manufacturer's instructions and your state fire service's current advice, which is the authority on this.
Damaged or end-of-life lithium batteries must never go in a household bin or a kerbside recycling bin — they start fires in trucks and at sorting facilities. Use a dedicated battery drop-off. Your council or a B-cycle collection point can take them.
What our products are, and aren't, rated for
Every category, with the limit stated rather than implied.
| Category | What it's rated for | What it isn't | Certified? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helmets | Bicycle and wheeled recreational device use, single impact | Not motorcycle rated. Not reusable after an impact | AS/NZS 2063:2020 |
| Knee and elbow pads | Abrasion and knocks in a low-speed fall | Not certified impact armour. No mandatory standard exists | No standard |
| Locks | Buying time against tools, per their rating | Nothing is theft-proof. Angle grinders defeat everything at this price | Some Sold Secure |
| Lights and reflectors | Being seen, and seeing, at the stated output | We don't certify road-legality in your state | Output stated |
| Racks, baskets, bags | The load rating printed on the product | Not a substitute for your vehicle's own maximum load | Load rated |
| Brake pads | Standard bicycle calipers, fitted correctly | Not a home job unless you're confident. Wrong fitting means no braking | Fitment specific |
| Rain gear | The stated hydrostatic head, when new | Coatings degrade with washing and wear — nothing stays waterproof forever | Rating stated |
Fitting and load
- Follow the instructions and any stated torque figure. Overtightening cracks alloy and crushes carbon
- Never force a fitting. A clamp held on with cable ties or a shim cut from a bottle will fail while you're moving
- Most e-scooter makers state a maximum total load including the rider — check your manual before adding cargo
- Weight on the handlebars changes steering. Keep bar-mounted load light and check it doesn't foul the brakes
If something doesn't fit properly, send it back. It's returnable, and if our listing was wrong we pay the postage.
Things we won't sell
- Uncertified helmets — at any price
- E-scooter batteries, chargers, controllers, motors or wiring
- Anything claiming a safety rating we can't document
- Products described as unbreakable, theft-proof or indestructible
Electrical work on an e-scooter belongs with a qualified service agent. See the battery section above for why we're firm about it.
Recalls
What we do if something we've sold turns out to be unsafe.
How we'd handle one
- Stop selling it the same day — the listing comes down before anything else happens
- Email every customer who bought it, using order records, whether or not they have an account
- Post a notice at the top of the site for the duration
- Full refund or replacement, with return postage paid, and no argument about receipts or packaging
- Notify the ACCC where the law requires it
This is why we keep order records — so we can find you if we ever need to warn you.
Current recalls affecting our range
None.
If that changes, this section changes with it and you'll get an email rather than having to find it here.
You can check any product against the national register at productsafety.gov.au/recalls — including things you bought elsewhere.
Report a safety problem
If something we sold you failed in a way that could hurt someone, we want to hear about it more than we want to hear about anything else.
Email hello@compank.com with your order number, what happened, and photos if you can take them safely. Put SAFETY at the start of the subject line and it jumps the queue — we'll respond the same business day.
You don't need to be certain it's a fault. One report of a clamp cracking might be a one-off; three is a pattern we need to act on, and we'll never know unless the first person tells us. We won't argue about a refund on a safety report. That conversation comes after we understand what happened, not before.
If anyone was injured, tell us that too. There are reporting obligations that attach to injuries, and we'd rather meet them than discover them.
Compatibility guide — how to check something fits before you fit it, which is a safety question as much as a shopping one. Your consumer law rights — unsafe goods are a major failure, and that means the remedy is your choice. Returns — we pay the postage on anything faulty.