Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025

This Act is the Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025.

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

The objects of this Act are as follows—

to minimise the impact that products have on human health and the environment, throughout the lifecycle of the products,

to ensure that persons who supply a product are responsible for minimising the potential harm of what is supplied,

to support material circularity through design, production, use, re-use, collection, recycling, reprocessing and end-of-life management,

to promote and support the principles of a circular economy.

In this section—

principles of a circular economy include the following principles—

valuing resources and minimising the use of virgin materials by ensuring materials continue to circulate in the economy in a way that—

minimises the risk of harm to human health and the environment, and

considers the waste hierarchy,

keeping resources in use and designing out waste, pollution and resource inefficiency, including through innovative systems, technologies and business models,

ecologically sustainable and regenerative management of resources and systems.

waste hierarchy is a reference to the hierarchy set out in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001, section 3(b).

The dictionary in Schedule 3 defines words and expressions used in this Act.

Note—

The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

A person supplies a product whether or not—

a fee is charged for the supply of the product, or

the supply of the product is incidental to, or forms part of, the supply of another thing.

If there is an extraterritorial impact, this Act and the regulations apply to—

a person, whether or not the person is outside the State, and

premises, whether or not the premises are outside the State, and

a supplier, whether or not—

the supplier is carrying on a business outside the State, or

the supplier is a party to a contract made outside the State.

In this section—

extraterritorial impact means a matter or thing, whether it occurs or is located outside the State, that—

affects, or is likely to affect, the environment of the State, or

relates to the supply, or the likely supply, into or within the State of a regulated product, or

relates to a non-compliance matter.

non-compliance matter means a matter or thing that is, or is likely to be, an offence under this Act or the regulations.

In this Act, the brand owner of a product—

is the owner of the product name under which the product is supplied in the State, and

includes a person prescribed by the regulations.

The regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which the following persons are taken to be brand owners in relation to the supply of a particular product—

a person who is a licensee of a product name under which the product is supplied in the State,

a person who is a franchisee under a business arrangement that allows the person to supply the product in the State,

a person who first supplies the product in Australia.

Unless otherwise specified by the regulations, the brand owner of a product is taken to be the brand owner of the packaging material of the product.

The regulations may make provision for or about the following—

whether the brand owner of a product is or is not the brand owner of the packaging material of the product, including in specified circumstances,

the circumstances in which a person is or is not taken to be the brand owner of a product,

the granting of exemptions from this part—

with or without conditions, and

generally or in specified circumstances or for a specified product.

In this section—

product name includes a trade mark, brand name or trade name, whether or not registered in this or another jurisdiction.

In this part and section 6—

supply also includes the following for a scheme—

make the scheme available or provide the scheme to a person,

an offer to provide the scheme, including advertising the scheme or making other representations with the intention of providing the scheme.

The regulations may establish a scheme for the stewardship of the lifecycle of a regulated product (a product stewardship scheme).

The regulations for the scheme may—

prescribe a requirement (a product stewardship requirement) for the stewardship of the lifecycle of a regulated product, including the development, design, creation, production, assembly, supply, use or re-use, collection, recovery, recycling or disposal of the regulated product, and

specify a target about a product stewardship requirement, including a target expressed as a percentage.

Without limiting subsection (2), the regulations may prescribe a product stewardship requirement about the following—

the use or re-use of recycled materials or other materials that will minimise the environmental or resource impact of a product’s creation,

the membership of, or agreements or other arrangements with, product stewardship organisations,

the traceability of materials,

the ability of a product to be recycled, composted, repaired, processed, re-processed or re-used,

the re-use, re-manufacture, recovery, recycling, take-back, use or disposal of a product or resources from a product,

the safe collection, transport or storage of a product or resources from a product,

the prevention, reduction or recovery of litter,

the prevention or reduction of unlawful waste disposal or unsafe product disposal,

the reduction in material used in a product,

the design of a product,

the labelling or packaging of a product,

the maintenance, sharing, repair, refurbishment or upgrade of a product,

the longevity of a product,

the reduction of the impact, including the potential impact, of a product or the lifecycle of a product on resource management or waste management, including in relation to the following—

virgin materials,

demand for landfill,

damage to resource recovery and waste infrastructure,

the environment,

human health,

access to service points for re-use, collection, recovery, recycling or disposal, including hours of operation and the number or geographical spread of service points,

training, education, advertising and public awareness campaigns about a product.

To avoid doubt, the regulations may apply to a product that contains a regulated product.

Example—

If a battery is a regulated product, regulations under this section may apply to an e-bike with an embedded battery.

The regulations may declare that a product stewardship requirement is a safety requirement.

The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, set a product stewardship target, including a target expressed as a percentage.

The order takes effect—

on the date on which the order is published, or

if a later date is specified in the order—on the later date.

A target specified in the regulations prevails over a target set by order under this section.

The Minister may, by a further order made under this section, vary a target specified in the regulations if the regulations permit the variation of the target.

The brand owner of a regulated product must comply with a product stewardship requirement for the regulated product.

Maximum penalty—

for a failure to comply with a safety requirement—

for an individual—2,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 200 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—8,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 800 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—

for an individual—1,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 100 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—4,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 400 penalty units for each day the offence continues.

It is a defence in proceedings for an offence against this section if the defendant establishes that, at the time of the failure to comply—

an approved action plan for the product stewardship requirement applied in relation to the defendant, and

the defendant complied with the approved action plan and the conditions, if any, imposed by the regulator on the approved action plan.

To the extent that an approved action plan relates to a brand owner’s compliance with a product stewardship requirement, a failure to comply with the plan is evidence of a failure to comply with this section.

In this section—

product stewardship requirement includes a product stewardship target.

This section applies to the following (scheme participants)—

a brand owner,

a product stewardship organisation.

A scheme participant must—

prepare records for each financial year in accordance with this section, and

keep the records for at least 6 years following the financial year to which the records relate, and

make the records available for inspection and copying by an authorised officer on request.

Maximum penalty—

for an individual—1,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 100 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—4,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 400 penalty units for each day the offence continues.

Records prepared under this section must include the information prescribed by the regulations, if any.

The regulator may, by written notice to a scheme participant, direct the scheme participant to, within a specified period—

arrange an independent audit of the records to be carried out by an auditor specified by the regulator, and

give the auditor’s report to the regulator.

A scheme participant must, within the specified period, comply with a direction given under this section.

Maximum penalty—

for an individual—250 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 20 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—1,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 100 penalty units for each day the offence continues.

The regulations may specify information to be included in records by reference to the following—

a brand owner,

a regulated product or a substance recovered from a regulated product,

a product stewardship organisation,

an activity,

an industry.

A brand owner must, before first supplying a regulated product, give notice of the proposed supply to the following—

the regulator,

if there is a product stewardship scheme for the regulated product—the product stewardship organisation.

Maximum penalty—

for an individual—1,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 100 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—4,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 400 penalty units for each day the offence continues.

A brand owner must give an annual report to the following within 3 months of the end of the financial year—

the regulator,

if there is a product stewardship scheme for the regulated product—the product stewardship organisation.

Maximum penalty—

for an individual—1,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 100 penalty units for each day the offence continues, or

otherwise—4,000 penalty units and, for a continuing offence, a further 400 penalty units for each day the offence continues.

The notice and annual report must—

be given in the form and way approved by the regulator or product stewardship organisation, and

include the information prescribed by the regulations.

Information given to the regulator under this section may be taken into consideration by the regulator and used for this Act.

Without limiting subsection (4), the information is admissible in evidence in a prosecution of the brand owner for an offence against this Act or the regulations, whether or not the information may incriminate the brand owner.

The regulations may prescribe information to be included in an annual report by reference to the following—

a brand owner,

a regulated product or a substance recovered from a regulated product,

a product stewardship organisation,

an activity,

an industry.