Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020

The CEO must, on application under section 84, either:

approve the co‑regulatory arrangement in relation to the product to which the arrangement relates; or

refuse to approve the co‑regulatory arrangement in relation to the product.

A decision to refuse to approve an arrangement in relation to the product is a reviewable decision (see section 151) and the CEO must give the applicant written notice of the decision (see section 152).

The CEO must refuse to approve a co‑regulatory arrangement in relation to the product if the CEO is satisfied that:

a condition in subsection (3) is not satisfied in relation to the arrangement; or

the arrangement is unlikely to achieve one or more of the outcomes specified under section 79 for the product; or

the arrangement does not adequately deal with any matters specified for the product in rules made for the purposes of section 80; or

the administrator is not a fit and proper person; or

it is not in the public interest to approve the arrangement.

The CEO must have regard to the matters in section 175 in considering whether the administrator is a fit and proper person for the purposes of paragraph (d).

The conditions are as follows:

the arrangement is designed to achieve the outcomes specified under section 79 in relation to a product;

the arrangement deals with the matters prescribed by rules (if any) made for the purposes of section 80 in relation to that product;

the arrangement provides for there to be one or more members of the arrangement;

only a liable party may, under the arrangement, be a member of the arrangement;

the arrangement provides for there to be a person (the administrator) who:

is responsible for ensuring the outcomes referred to in paragraph (a) are achieved; and

may also be a member of the arrangement;

the administrator is a body corporate.

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(e), in determining whether it is in the public interest to approve the co‑regulatory arrangement, the CEO:

must have regard to the objects of this Act; and

may have regard to any other matter.

The CEO may refuse to approve a co‑regulatory arrangement in relation to the product if:

the applicant has not given the CEO further information or documents within the period specified in a request made under section 174 in relation to the application; or

the information or a document provided in the application, or as requested under section 174, is false or misleading.

The CEO must give the applicant written notice of the decision on the application.