ACCC sues Kmart over OXX nail glue after users, including children, suffered burns

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched a federal court action against Kmart, accusing the retailer of selling its home-brand OXX nail glue despite complaints that the product caused burns to users, including children.

In court documents filed by the ACCC and reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the regulator says consumers alleged third-degree burns, hospital treatment and, in some instances, skin grafts after using the glue. The ACCC recorded more than 50 customer complaints about the product between August 2017 and December 2024.

According to the ACCC filing cited by the Sydney Morning Herald, the glue can produce a chemical reaction when it contacts fabric; that reaction reportedly caused steaming, smoking, burning or melting of fabric, which the ACCC says can burn skin if fabric is pressed against it.

Catriona Lowe, the ACCC deputy chair, told the Sydney Morning Herald that consumers should be warned of material risks so they can make an informed choice at purchase, and said the ACCC alleges that did not occur in this case.

The ACCC says Kmart changed the packaging for OXX glue in December 2024 to add warnings but continued to sell pre-existing stock without those warnings until February 2025, according to the Sydney Morning Herald report. The regulator is using those dates and the pattern of complaints in its court filing to support its claims.

The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that the product remained listed for sale on Kmart’s website when that outlet published its article.

The complaint, as described by the Sydney Morning Herald, names specific consumer harms—including hospitalisation and skin grafts—and links them to the OXX product through the ACCC’s documentation of customer complaints and the regulator’s explanation of the chemical reaction risk.

The ACCC’s deputy chair framed the core issue as a failure to provide consumers with the opportunity to see and assess a material safety risk at the time of purchase. Kmart has been contacted for comment, the Sydney Morning Herald said; the article does not include a statement from Kmart disputing or accepting the ACCC’s allegations.

The Sydney Morning Herald account provides the dates the ACCC cites for the packaging change and the period the regulator says pre-existing stock continued to be sold, and it records the number of complaints the ACCC notes in its filing.

The Sydney Morning Herald article is the primary published account available for these allegations; ABC Australia’s headline also reported that the ACCC has taken Kmart to court over nail glue burns.

The ACCC court filing and the Sydney Morning Herald’s reporting together set out the regulator’s claims, the consumer harms alleged, the timeline the ACCC uses, and the fact the product was still listed for sale online when that outlet published its story.