{"id":"BILL-s1494","name":"Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026","slug":"extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":457659,"registerId":"commonwealth-BILL-s1494-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-05-18","status":"introduced","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"retrieval-0001","sectionType":"document_chunk","heading":"Document excerpt 1","content":"# Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026\n\nSource: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1494\n\n## Parliamentary progress\n\nProgress\n\nSenate\n\nIntroduced and read a first time\n\n13 May 2026\n\nSecond reading moved\n\n13 May 2026\n\n## Notes\n\nDocuments and transcripts\n\nText of bill\n\nFirst reading\n\nExplanatory memoranda\n\nExplanatory memorandum\n\nTranscript of speeches\n\nAll second reading speeches\n\nPrivate Senator's introductory speech\n\nProposed amendments\n\nNo proposed amendments have been circulated.\n\nSchedules of amendments\n\nNo documents at present\nNotes\n\nReferred to Committee (14/05/2026): Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; Report due 06/08/2026\n\n## Official APH document links\n\n- First reading: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbills%2Fs1494_first-senate%2F0000%22;rec=0\n- Explanatory memorandum: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fems%2Fs1494_ems_3696a6ad-ad15-4f7a-b2a7-59b88a95f8f7%22\n- All second reading speeches: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result/Second_Reading_Speeches?BillId=s1494\n- Private Senator's introductory speech: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F29219%2F0139%22\n- Report due 06/08/2026: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Notimetowaste48P","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the bill text, the instrument remains focused on establishing a mandatory national extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging — shifting costs and operational obligations to producers, accrediting stewardship schemes, and creating reporting, fee and enforcement mechanisms. It does not appear to expand beyond that core purpose into unrelated policy areas. The main extensions are implementation details: broader definitions of liable parties (to include importers and brand owners), detailed compliance and reporting obligations, and mechanisms for delegated rule‑making, rather than a substantive enlargement of policy scope."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple regulated actors (manufacturers, importers, brand owners, retailers) creating allocation complexity","Thresholds and exemptions (phased commencement and small‑supplier carve‑outs) with nested conditions","Delegated rule‑making powers for Minister/regulator (targets, fee schedules, material designations) requiring cross‑referencing","Accreditation and approval processes for collective schemes plus alternative individual obligations","Detailed reporting, record‑keeping and auditing obligations tied to compliance outcomes","Civil and criminal enforcement options and multiple compliance pathways (notices, penalties, injunctions)","Interaction with existing state/territory waste and product stewardship laws and existing voluntary schemes","Transitional arrangements and grandfathering provisions that create time‑dependent rules"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law would do (mechanically)**\n\n- Establish a national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme that makes those who supply packaging into the Australian market responsible for the end‑of‑life costs and outcomes for that packaging (collection, sorting, recycling or disposal).\n- Identify which parties are ‘‘producers’’ for the scheme — typically manufacturers, importers, brand owners and sometimes large retailers — and require liable producers to either join an approved collective scheme or meet specified individual obligations.\n- Create obligations for producers to register, report data on packaging placed on the market, pay fees or levies that fund recovery and recycling activities, and meet material‑specific or outcome‑focused targets (for example, recycling rates or recycled content targets).\n- Provide for accreditation or approval of producer responsibility schemes, specify compliance, auditing and reporting rules, and empower a regulator or the responsible Minister to make subordinate instruments (rules, targets, fees, designations and exemptions).\n- Set enforcement tools: notices, civil penalties, potential criminal offences for serious breaches, and powers to obtain information and audits to check compliance.\n- Include transitional arrangements (phased commencement, thresholds, exemptions for small suppliers) and measures to interact with existing state/territory waste laws and voluntary stewardship programs.\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Businesses that supply packaged goods to Australian consumers: manufacturers, importers, brand owners and some retailers. Small suppliers may be exempted or subject to a higher threshold.\n- Collective organisations that operate approved stewardship schemes (they will be accredited and receive fees to arrange recovery and recycling).\n- Service providers in collection, sorting and reprocessing (potentially beneficiaries of scheme funding, and subject to procurement and reporting requirements).\n- Consumers indirectly, because producer costs are likely to flow into product or packaging prices.\n\n**Why it matters (claimed policy objective, tested against mechanics and costs)**\n\n- Official purpose claims: the bill is presented as shifting the financial and operational responsibility for packaging waste from governments and taxpayers onto producers, to improve recovery rates and increase recycled content.\n\n- How that is implemented mechanically: the bill internalises end‑of‑life costs by making producers fund collection/recycling and by attaching measurable obligations (data, targets, fees) to packaging types. The regulator and delegated instruments translate broad obligations into concrete targets, lists of covered materials, and fee schedules.\n\n- Who pays: producers supply packaging to the market and therefore bear the direct financial cost of fees, compliance systems, reporting and any charges passed through to industry service providers. Those costs are likely to be passed on, in whole or in part, to downstream purchasers and consumers.\n\n- Who decides and how discretion is allocated: the scheme centralises a substantial rule‑making role with the Commonwealth (Minister/regulator) to declare covered materials, set fees and targets, and accredit schemes. That concentrates substantive implementation choices in delegated instruments and scheme rules rather than solely on primary legislation.\n\n- Behaviour changes and incentives: the scheme creates incentives for producers to reduce packaging, redesign for recyclability or recycled content, or change supply chains to lower fee exposure. It also creates a market for approved collection and reprocessing services funded by producer contributions.\n\n- Costs, trade‑offs and implementation risks:\n  - Administrative and compliance burden: producers must register, keep records, report volumes and material data, possibly obtain audits and meet performance obligations. Smaller businesses may face compliance costs even if exempt thresholds apply.\n  - Market effects: the fee structure and rules will influence product design and prices. Collective schemes may provide economies of scale but could also create coordination problems or concentration among scheme operators.\n  - Interaction with state and territory laws: national implementation requires careful coordination with existing local regulation and infrastructure; duplication or gaps could arise during transition.\n  - Rent‑seeking and capture risk: accrediting and funding stewardship organisations concentrates resources, which creates incentives for industry players and service providers to influence scheme rules and fee allocations. The legislation’s governance and transparency settings will determine how that risk is managed.\n  - Supply‑chain and competition effects: defined liability rules (who is the ‘‘producer’’) determine who pays; broad definitions can shift costs to brand owners or importers rather than local manufacturers, influencing competitive dynamics.\n\n**Net effect (mechanical, not normative)**\n\n- The bill moves financial responsibility for packaging waste from governments and the general taxpayer to producers, creates a new compliance and enforcement framework at Commonwealth level, and channels funds into accredited recovery/recycling activities. It changes incentives for packaging design and supply‑chain decisions, while imposing administrative, reporting and fee burdens on liable businesses.\n\n**Practical implementation points to watch**\n\n- How the law defines a ‘‘producer’’ and any revenue/volume thresholds (this determines which businesses face obligations).\n- The architecture of charging (per tonne, by material, or by recyclability) — that shapes design incentives and price effects.\n- Accreditation and governance rules for stewardship schemes — these affect transparency and how funds are allocated to recycling capacity.\n- Interaction and transitional arrangements with state/territory schemes and existing voluntary programs — these determine short‑term duplication or gaps.\n\n"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026","history":"/api/acts/extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/extended-producer-responsibility-scheme-for-packaging-no-time-to-waste-bill-2026/documents"}}