Following a historic agreement struck at a national meeting of environment ministers last week, Australia will soon mandate obligations for packaging design as part of a new packaging regulatory scheme based on international best practice, making industry responsible for the packaging they place on the market.

At the national meeting of environment ministers on 9 June 2023, Environment Ministers expressed concerns that voluntary targets and design guidelines are not working, prompting the need for stricter rules aimed at cutting waste and boosting recycling.

As more than 70% of the environmental impacts of an item are locked in at the design stage, the new rules aim to design out packaging waste from the start.  The new rules will include mandatory packaging design standards and targets – including for recycled content and to address the use of harmful chemicals and other contaminants in packaging.  These new rules will help make sure packaging waste is minimised in the first place, and where packaging is used, it is designed to be recovered, reused, recycled, or reprocessed.  To support food waste recycling, Ministers have agreed that a timeline will be set to remove contaminants from compostable food packaging.

The Ministers have also sent the textile and clothing sector a clear message that if they don’t take responsibility for their waste by the middle of 2024, Australian governments will regulate, as they are now doing for packaging.

Many industry and environmental associations in Australia (including the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, WWF-Australia, Australian Food and Grocery Council and National Retail Association) have welcomed this announcement, including industry stakeholders who have advocated for more decisive and clear guidance on the issue.

What are the implications for companies doing business in Australia? 

This is an important step forward in Australia’s goals of achieving a circular economy for packaging and companies doing business in Australia should be on notice of the stricter packaging rules to come (though no definitive timeline has been provided regarding these new rules).

Businesses are increasingly expected to be more mindful of the sustainability of their packaging practices and must be prepared to adopt more product stewardship schemes. This aligns with the increased focus on ESG practices and the public expectation that brand owners and all entities within the supply chain adopt socially and environmentally responsible practices without any greenwash.  This development also follows increased regulation overseas, such as the introduction of environmental labelling legislation throughout Europe and plastic packaging tax legislation.

Watch this space as we expect to see more movement on this issue throughout the course of 2023.

This post was co-authored by Hazel Pang (Graduate) and Jessie Buchan (Partner).