On May 14, 2026, the Australian Senate referred the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026 to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee. This critical legislative step aims to establish a uniform, mandatory national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging, shifting the industry from voluntary guidelines to strict, legally binding obligations.
The Australian Senate referred the Packaging EPR Bill to committee review, moving Australia toward a mandatory national packaging stewardship scheme. If enacted, it will replace voluntary approaches with binding reuse, recycling, composting, recycled-content, and eco-design obligations across the packaging supply chain.
