Commonwealth bill

Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026

CTHIntroducedMetadata only

Zoe only has APH summary and progress metadata for this Bill. Deep analysis is withheld until official Bill text or explanatory material is available.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

bill

Parliamentary Progress

Origin: Senate

IntroducedFirst ReadingSecond ReadingCommitteePassed HousePassed SenatePassed BothRoyal Assent

Plain English Summary

7/10 complexity

What this law would do (mechanically)

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).
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.
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).
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).
Set enforcement tools: notices, civil penalties, potential criminal offences for serious breaches, and powers to obtain information and audits to check compliance.
Include transitional arrangements (phased commencement, thresholds, exemptions for small suppliers) and measures to interact with existing state/territory waste laws and voluntary stewardship programs.

Who this affects

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Source excerpts

Direct links to excerpts of the current source text in Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026.

retrieval-0001

Document excerpt 1

Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026

Source: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1494

Parliamentary progress

Progress

Senate

Introduced and read a first time

13 May 2026

Second reading moved

13 May 2026

Notes

Documents and transcripts

Text of bill

First reading

Explanatory memoranda

Explanatory memorandum

Transcript of speeches

All second reading speeches

Private Senator's introductory speech

Proposed amendments

No proposed amendments have been circulated.

Schedules of amendments

No documents at present Notes

Referred to Committee (14/05/2026): Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; Report due 06/08/2026

Official APH document links

First reading: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbills%2Fs1494_first-senate%2F0000%22;rec=0
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
All second reading speeches: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result/Second_Reading_Speeches?BillId=s1494
Private Senator's introductory speech: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F29219%2F0139%22
Report due 06/08/2026: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Notimetowaste48P

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.