Product Lifecycle Responsibility Regulation 2026

"Regulated battery" is the central defined concept (s 7). The regulation draws the scope of the scheme through an exhaustive positive list and an exhaustive exclusion list, with an explicit clarification that batteries not in the positive list are outside scope (s 7(3)). The positive list covers six standard consumer cell sizes (AAA, AA, C, D, 9 volt, 6 volt lantern); button batteries and button cell batteries; removable rechargeable batteries weighing 5 kg or less; rechargeable batteries used to power e-micromobility devices; and portable power banks weighing 5 kg or less (s 7(1)). The exclusion list removes lead acid batteries, mobile phone batteries, laptop or tablet batteries, and backup batteries incorporated in emergency lighting systems (s 7(2)). The line between included and excluded items is not always intuitive: a removable rechargeable battery at 4.9 kg is regulated; a lead acid battery of any weight is not; a laptop battery is not regulated but a portable power bank of identical weight may be.

The "e-micromobility device" concept (s 3, s 8) encompasses e-bikes, electric scooters, self-balancing scooters and electric skateboards. Where the battery in such a device cannot practicably be removed, the whole device is treated as if it were the regulated battery (s 8). This is a practical deeming provision to prevent the scheme being avoided simply because a battery is glued or fastened to its host device.

"Brand owner" is defined by the parent Act, but s 9 refines it for regulated batteries. The person who physically brings a battery into New South Wales for supply is a brand owner even if they are not the owner of the product name (s 9(1)). Conversely, the name-owner is not the brand owner if they do not supply the battery in the State and another person handles importation (s 9(2)). A pure transporter or warehouseman does not thereby become a brand owner (s 9(3)). This allocation of responsibility tracks the supply chain actor most able to internalise recycling costs into pricing, since the importer controls the volume entering the State.

A "product stewardship organisation" (PSO) is a body that can enter into a stewardship administration agreement with the regulator. The agreement, once in place, shifts the compliance responsibility from individual brand owners to the PSO, which then contracts with each brand owner about how the Schedule 1 obligations will be met (s 10(1)(a)). The regulation creates a public register obligation (s 17, Schedule 3) to disclose which PSO agreements are in force, their coverage, and the collection and recovery statistics generated under them.

The 24 kg per financial year threshold in s 5 is a de minimis exemption: brand owners supplying less than that quantity of regulated batteries in NSW are not subject to the product stewardship requirements in s 10 or the reporting obligations in Division 2 of Part 2. The threshold is by weight, not by number of units, which matters because different battery chemistries and sizes vary considerably in weight-to-unit ratio.

The primary regulated parties are brand owners of regulated batteries who supply those batteries in New South Wales above the 24 kg threshold. The category is broad: it reaches domestic manufacturers (rare for batteries), importers, and distributors who bring batteries into the State under their own brand or product name. Retailers who simply stock branded products from an identified brand owner are generally not in scope as brand owners, but retailers who import and white-label are.

PSOs are a second regulated party. Any industry body that negotiates a stewardship administration agreement with the NSW EPA takes on the record-keeping obligations in s 13, the quarterly and annual reporting obligations under s 15, and the action-plan obligation under s 16(2)(a). PSOs also bear the financial transparency obligations in Schedule 2 s 3, including quarterly disclosure of revenue, expenditure across four categories, and financial position summaries.

Consumers are not directly regulated, but are the intended beneficiaries of the access and information obligations. The scheme requires that collection points be accessible in both metropolitan and regional areas (Schedule 1, s 7(1)), which affects where retailers and PSO-contracted collectors must operate. Consumers of e-micromobility devices are specifically affected by s 8, since the device itself may become the unit of compliance if the battery is non-removable.

Third-party recycling contractors engaged by PSOs are indirectly regulated through the record-keeping requirements in s 13(2): PSOs must record the minimum standards in their recycling contracts, the percentage of reusable material recovered, and how recovered material is used. This flows through into contractual requirements that recyclers must satisfy to win PSO contracts.

The regulation also affects NSW EPA operationally. The regulator must maintain the public register (s 17, Schedule 3) updated by 1 December each year or 60 days after receiving the relevant annual report, whichever is later (Schedule 3, ss 3(2) and 4(2)).

Brand owners above the 24 kg threshold face three clusters of duty.

The first cluster is participation: they must either be a party to an agreement with a PSO (if a stewardship administration agreement is in force for their battery type) or directly comply with Schedule 1 Parts 1 and 2 themselves (s 10(1)). There is no opt-out from compliance; the choice is only between the collective-PSO route and the direct route.

The second cluster is record-keeping. Section 12 requires brand owners to prepare and keep records covering: how they informed consumers about safe disposal and recycling; for each type of regulated battery supplied, the total number, the number broken down by battery chemistry type, the total weight, and the weight broken down by battery chemistry type. Records must be kept by financial year and by battery type, which means brand owners must maintain systems capable of distinguishing between, for example, lithium-ion and nickel-cadmium volumes within the same product category.

The third cluster is reporting. Brand owners who are "responsible entities" (that is, those operating without a PSO agreement for their battery type) must submit annual reports covering supply volumes and weights by chemistry type, consumer information activities, and expenditure on public education, collection and storage, and recycling (s 14(1)). Brand owners who are not responsible entities (that is, those operating under a PSO agreement) are exempt from the Act's s 12(2)(a) annual reporting requirement (s 14(2)).

Action plans are required from every responsible entity (s 16). A PSO must lodge its action plan within 3 months of entering its stewardship administration agreement. A brand owner who is directly responsible must lodge within 3 months of giving the Act s 12(1)(a) notice to the regulator, or within 3 months of losing PSO coverage. The required content of an action plan is set out in Schedule 2 s 1: it must address landfill diversion strategies, collection point sufficiency and accessibility including for persons with disability, management of non-battery items deposited at collection points, consumer communication, financial viability of the collection and recycling arrangements, and support for domestic Australian recycling.

PSOs have obligations exceeding those of brand owners. In addition to record-keeping (s 13) and action plans (s 16), they must submit quarterly reports (s 15(2), Schedule 2 s 3) covering any material change in compliance capacity, details of every battery fire at a collection point (including location, date and time, cause or suspected cause, and emergency services response), revenue generated under the scheme, expenditure across four categories, and a current financial position summary. The quarterly fire-reporting obligation reflects the genuine thermal runaway risk from lithium-ion batteries in collection receptacles.

The Schedule 1 Part 1 obligations (the general stewardship standards) apply on a "reasonably practicable" qualified basis. The Schedule 1 Part 2 obligations (the safety requirements) are expressly declared to be "safety requirements" under Act s 8(5) (regulation s 10(2)), which activates more serious enforcement consequences under the parent Act for non-compliance with those provisions specifically.

Collection receptacles face prescriptive design requirements under Schedule 1 s 7(6): they must minimise non-battery disposal, protect against moisture and heat, minimise fire risk and contain fires that occur, meet dangerous goods transport requirements, and be sealable against unauthorised access including by animals. Stand-alone collection points must be undercover, well ventilated, away from direct sunlight and heat, and in a safe and visible location (Schedule 1, s 7(4)).

The regulation does not create new offences. It amends Schedule 6 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2022 to insert penalty notice amounts for contraventions of the parent Act as triggered by the battery scheme.

For a contravention of Act s 10(1) where the requirement is a safety requirement: first offence, $2,200 for an individual, $8,800 for a corporation; second or subsequent offence, $3,300 for an individual, $13,200 for a corporation.

For a contravention of Act s 10(1) where the requirement is not a safety requirement: first offence, $1,100 for an individual, $4,400 for a corporation; second or subsequent offence, $1,650 for an individual, $6,600 for a corporation.

Since the Schedule 1 Part 2 safety requirements (collection point design, thermal containment, dangerous goods labelling) are declared safety requirements under s 10(2), breach of those obligations attracts the higher tier. The general Part 1 obligations (circular economy principles, landfill diversion, public awareness) are not declared safety requirements, so they attract the lower tier.

For contraventions of Act ss 11(2), 12(1) or (2), 13(1), 15, 16, 19(2), 20(2) and 40(1): first offence, $1,100 individual, $4,400 corporation; second or subsequent offence, $1,650 individual, $6,600 corporation. Act s 11(5) attracts lower amounts: first offence $275 individual, $1,100 corporation; second or subsequent $410 individual, $1,650 corporation.

These are penalty notice amounts, not the maximum court-imposed penalties that may apply under the Act itself. Penalty notices give authorised officers (designated as "2" in the table, meaning environment protection officers of a specified classification) a field-enforcement tool without requiring prosecution. The Act's own penalty maxima may be higher and would apply if the matter proceeds to court.

The regulation does not specify any additional civil rights or remedies beyond those in the parent Act. Consumers have no private cause of action created by this regulation.

The regulation is entirely subordinate to the Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025 (NSW), which is its source of power throughout. The regulation expressly cross-references the Act's definitions of "brand owner" (Act s 6), "product stewardship requirements" (Act s 8), "record keeping" (Act s 11(3)), "reporting" (Act ss 12(3)(b), 13(2)(c), and 57(3)), "action plans" (Act s 16), and "public register" (Act s 54(2)(d)). The regulation does not operate if the Act has not commenced.

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) (POEO Act) is flagged in the note to s 10 as independently imposing waste-handling obligations on persons dealing with batteries as waste. The scheme sits alongside, rather than displacing, those obligations. Brand owners and PSOs complying with Schedule 1 must still comply with POEO Act waste obligations; the note makes clear these regimes accumulate.

Schedule 4 directly amends the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2022 to add the battery scheme penalty notices. This is a mechanical drafting technique: rather than creating a separate penalty schedule, the regulation slots the new offences into the existing enforcement machinery of the POEO general regulation.

Section 13(3) requires PSOs that are also participants in the Commonwealth product stewardship arrangement under the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 (Cth) to keep their NSW records separately from their Commonwealth records. This is significant: the federal Battery Stewardship Council's B-cycle scheme operates under the Commonwealth Act. A PSO that is a B-cycle participant operating in NSW must maintain dual record-keeping systems. The regulation does not assert that NSW participation excuses non-compliance with Commonwealth obligations or vice versa.

The NSW Batteries Product Stewardship Recycling Standard, published by the EPA, is incorporated by reference into Schedule 1 s 4(2) on a rolling basis ("as in force from time to time"). Brand owners and PSOs are bound to comply with the current version of the Standard without the regulation itself being amended. This is a dynamic reference that shifts compliance obligations as the Standard is updated.

The Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail (approved by the National Transport Commission) is similarly incorporated by reference into the collection receptacle labelling requirement in Schedule 1 s 7(6)(d). Battery transport is regulated federally as dangerous goods; the regulation requires collection receptacle labelling to keep pace with that federal code.

The regulation is new, made in 2026 as SL 2026/0047. The source text records no prior amendments to this regulation. It has no amendment history.

The source text names no cases. No litigation history can be reported.

The 24 kg threshold in s 5 is a compliance trip hazard. The exemption applies "in the financial year", meaning a brand owner who grows supply to cross 24 kg partway through a year is not automatically in breach for the period before crossing, but the regulation does not specify when during the year the obligations activate. Businesses near the threshold should monitor quarterly and take conservative legal advice about when obligations crystallise.

The exclusion of mobile phone batteries (s 7(2)(b)) and laptop or tablet batteries (s 7(2)(c)) while including removable rechargeable batteries (s 7(1)(c)) and power banks (s 7(1)(e)) creates classification ambiguity at the product boundary. A large removable battery pack that could power a tablet may or may not be a "laptop or tablet computer battery". There is no further definitional guidance in the regulation. Importers of multi-function battery products need to make a considered classification decision, and should document their reasoning for a potential regulator inquiry.

The deeming of a non-removable-battery e-micromobility device as a regulated battery (s 8) has an unexpected consequence for importers of those devices. They are not merely battery brand owners in the ordinary sense; they are bringing in a physical device that is treated, legally, as a battery for all purposes of the scheme. Whether this means device-level weight reporting, device-level collection obligations, and device-level chemistry-type disclosure is not expressly addressed. The regulation appears to require device weight to count toward the 24 kg threshold and toward collection obligations, which would be operationally burdensome for e-bike importers whose products weigh 15-25 kg per unit.

The rolling incorporation by reference of the NSW Batteries Product Stewardship Recycling Standard (Schedule 1, s 4(2)) means compliance obligations under the regulation can change without legislative amendment or public notice in the parliamentary sense. Brand owners and PSOs need to subscribe to EPA Standard updates as a compliance monitoring task.

PSOs are required to report every battery fire at a collection point in their quarterly report (Schedule 2, s 3(b)). This is a disclosure obligation with no materiality threshold: a small fire self-contained in a receptacle triggers the same reporting as a significant incident. Combined with the requirement to disclose the cause or suspected cause, this creates reputational and potential liability exposure around collection point incidents. PSOs should ensure their collection point contractors are contractually required to notify promptly so the PSO can meet its quarterly deadline.

Brand owners who lose PSO coverage (because their PSO's stewardship administration agreement lapses or is terminated) must lodge a fresh action plan within 3 months (s 16(2)(b)(ii)) and become directly responsible for Schedule 1 compliance. There is no grace period for standing up a collection network from scratch. Businesses that rely entirely on PSO infrastructure should assess what they would do if PSO coverage disappeared and whether they could satisfy the collection-point sufficiency requirement in Schedule 1 s 7 within three months.

The public register obligations (Schedule 3, s 3) require disclosure of disposal rates and recovery rates calculated according to prescribed formulae. The formulae are expressed in the source as image references (the actual mathematical expressions were rendered as GIF images in the original instrument). The formulas derive disposal rate as the weight of collected batteries disposed of divided by total weight collected, and recovery rate as the inverse. Brand owners and PSOs must understand that these published rates will be visible to competitors and to the public, creating reputational accountability for underperformance on collection efficiency.

For brand owners, the first step is to determine whether any of their products fall within the s 7(1) categories and are not excluded by s 7(2). Products that straddle the definitions, particularly multi-chemistry devices and e-micromobility products with integrated batteries, warrant a formal classification exercise documented in writing.

Second, brand owners must calculate their annual NSW supply volume by weight and by battery type. Those supplying less than 24 kg per financial year in NSW are exempt from ss 10 and Division 2 of Part 2 (s 5). Those above the threshold must assess whether a PSO with a stewardship administration agreement covers their battery types.

Third, brand owners in PSO-covered categories should contract with that PSO under s 10(1)(a). The agreement must set out how the Schedule 1 obligations will be met for both Part 1 (general stewardship) and Part 2 (safety requirements). Since Part 2 obligations are declared safety requirements, non-compliance carries higher penalty notice amounts; brand owners should confirm their PSO agreement expressly addresses the Schedule 1 Part 2 items, particularly the collection point design requirements and dangerous goods labelling.

Fourth, brand owners must establish record-keeping systems from commencement that capture supply volumes by unit count and weight, broken down by battery chemistry type (lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride) for each regulated battery type supplied (s 12). Chemistry-type breakdowns require cooperation from suppliers or internal product data management.

Fifth, brand owners must ensure they can satisfy their consumer information obligations (Schedule 1, s 5). Communications to consumers must cover recycling arrangements, how to access collection points, and safe disposal of batteries that are not regulated.

For PSOs, compliance requires establishing a collection network that meets the Schedule 1 s 7 requirements across both metropolitan and regional NSW, using receptacles that satisfy all of the s 7(6) design requirements. The NSW Batteries Product Stewardship Recycling Standard must be incorporated into recycling contracts, and contractual mechanisms must require recyclers to report recovery percentages and material re-use methods to the PSO (s 13(2)).

PSOs must prepare and lodge action plans within 3 months of entering their stewardship administration agreement (s 16(2)(a)), covering all of the Schedule 2 s 1 content items, including the financial viability explanation and the domestic recycling support commitment. Quarterly reporting begins from the first quarter after the agreement and must include the fire-incident log. Annual reports must be submitted under Act s 13, incorporating the Schedule 2 s 2 supply data.

PSOs already participating in the Commonwealth B-cycle scheme must set up separate record-keeping for NSW obligations from day one (s 13(3)), since commingled records will not satisfy either regime. Practical implementation means separate database entries or spreadsheet tabs that track NSW supply data independently from national data.

All parties should monitor EPA updates to the NSW Batteries Product Stewardship Recycling Standard and the National Transport Commission's Dangerous Goods Code, since both are incorporated on a rolling basis and changes to either instrument automatically change compliance obligations without amending this regulation.