Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013

Administered by Department of the Environment and Energy

Legislation au F2013L01525 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Explanatory STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2013 No. 200

Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and Urban Water

Subject -  Product Stewardship Act 2011

 

Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013

 

 

The Product Stewardship Act 2011 (the Act) establishes a framework for mandatory,
co-regulatory and voluntary product stewardship and seeks to address the environmental, health and safety impacts of products and materials across their full lifecycles, from manufacture to disposal.

 

Section 111 of the Act provides that the Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

The Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011 (the Principal Regulations) commenced on 8 November 2011 and gave effect to the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (the Scheme). The objectives of the Scheme are to minimise the amount of television and computer materials (particularly hazardous materials) that are disposed of to landfill and maximise the recovery of resources from televisions and computers. Thresholds setting out minimum numbers of products imported or manufactured by a person (or, in some cases, a related body corporate) in the previous financial year are used to determine whether a person is a liable party and so is covered by the Scheme.

 

The Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Single Product Class) Regulation 2013 (the 2013 Regulations) amended the Principal Regulations to replace the separate computer product class and television product class with a single television or computer products class. The intention of this amendment was to address the potential for misalignment between recycling targets, and public demand for recycling, and allows
co-regulatory arrangements operating under the Scheme to recycle products in the proportions in which the community delivers unwanted products, reducing the risk that recycling targets may not be met.

 

Prior to the commencement of the 2013 Regulations, all computers and computer parts were counted together for the purpose of calculating the import or manufacture share for a
co-regulatory arrangement in circumstances where the threshold for one, but not the other, had been satisfied. This is because computers and computer parts were all part of the computer class.

 

With the change to a single product class, the intention was to ensure that the approach to thresholds and calculating liability were not changed. However, due to a technical oversight in the 2013 amendments, computers, printers, computer parts and peripherals can no longer be counted together. The purpose of the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013 (the Regulation) is to correct this technical oversight.

 

In particular, the Regulation clarifies that where the threshold for either ‘computers or printers’ or ‘computer parts and peripherals’ has been satisfied, then any products described in the other threshold must also be counted when calculating the import or manufacture share of a co-regulatory arrangement.

 

No consultation has been undertaken on the Regulation. This is because the amendments fall within the scope of consultation undertaken on the 2013 Regulations and the Regulation is necessary to ensure the original policy intention of the Principal Regulations continues to be given effect.

 

Details of the Regulation are outlined in the Attachment.

 

The Regulation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulation commences on the day after the date on which it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 


 

 

 

 

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013

Section 1 – Name of Regulations

This section provides that the title of the regulation is the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013 (the Regulation).

Section 2 – Commencement

This section provides for the Regulation to commence on the day after the Regulation is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Section 3 – Authority

This section provides that the Regulation is made under the Product Stewardship Act 2011 (the Act).

Section 4 – Schedule(s)

This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Regulation is amended or repealed as set out in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to the Regulation has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011

Item 1 – Subregulation 3.04(5)

This item repeals subregulation 3.04(5) of the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011 (the Principal Regulations) and substitutes it with a new subregulation 3.04(5).

Paragraph 3.04(5)(a) repeats the wording contained in the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Single Product Class) Regulation 2013 (the 2013 Regulations), and clarifies that when a co-regulatory arrangement is calculating the import or manufacture share, it must use the same conversion factor for steps 1B and 2B as set out in
subregulation 3.04(4).

Paragraphs 3.04(5)(b), (c) and (d) provide that where a threshold in subregulations 2.02(1), (2) or (3) is satisfied, all of the products which satisfy an individual threshold must be taken into account for the purposes of calculating import or manufacture share of a co-regulatory arrangement under subregulation 3.04(4).

Paragraphs 3.04(5)(e) and 3.04(5)(f) correct the technical oversight created by the 2013 Regulations, and operate to clarify that where either threshold specified in subregulations 2.02(2) or 2.02(3) is satisfied, any products of the kind described in the other threshold must also be counted when calculating the import or manufacture share of a co-regulatory arrangement, regardless of whether the threshold for those products has been satisfied. For example, if a person (or a related body corporate) imported 6,000 printers and the same person imported 9,000 computer parts in a financial year, all of the printers imported by the person (or a related body corporate) and all of the computer parts imported by the person would need to be taken into account for the purposes of calculating import or manufacture share of a co-regulatory arrangement under subregulation 3.04(4). This is regardless of the fact that the threshold for liability for computer parts or peripherals set out in subregulation 2.02(3) has not been satisfied (the threshold for computer parts or peripherals set out in subregulation 2.02(3) is more than 15,000). This amendment ensures that the policy intent of the Principal Regulations is maintained.

 

 

Overview

The Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013 was enacted to address a technical oversight in the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Single Product Class) Regulation 2013. This oversight inadvertently prevented the aggregation of certain product categories, specifically computers, printers, computer parts, and peripherals, when calculating the import or manufacture share for co-regulatory arrangements. The Product Stewardship Act 2011, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, establishes a framework for managing the environmental impacts of products throughout their lifecycles. The policy objective of the amendment is to ensure that the approach to thresholds and liability calculations remains consistent with the original intent of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme. The regulation was made under the authority of the Product Stewardship Act 2011 and is designed to correct the oversight without the need for further consultation, as it aligns with the policy objectives previously discussed.

Scope and Application

The Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013 amends the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011 to correct a technical oversight introduced by the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Single Product Class) Regulation 2013. This regulation applies to the entities and individuals involved in the import or manufacture of televisions and computers within Australia, specifically those who meet or exceed the specified thresholds for these products. These thresholds determine whether a person is considered a liable party under the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, which aims to minimise waste and maximise resource recovery from these products. The regulation ensures that when calculating the import or manufacture share of a co-regulatory arrangement, all products that meet the threshold for either computers or printers, as well as computer parts and peripherals, must be included. This amendment is necessary to align with the original policy intent of the Principal Regulations and to ensure effective recycling practices in line with community demand. The regulation is a legislative instrument under the Product Stewardship Act 2011 and commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Key Provisions

The Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Amendment (Import or Manufacture Share) Regulation 2013 amends the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011, which originally implemented the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme. This Regulation, under section 111 of the Product Stewardship Act 2011, aims to correct a technical oversight that arose from the 2013 Regulations which established a single product class for televisions and computers. Specifically, section 4 of the Schedule 1 to the Regulation amends subregulation 3.04(5) of the Principal Regulations. This amendment ensures that the import or manufacture share for a co-regulatory arrangement must include all products within the specified categories, even if the threshold for one category has not been met. For example, if a company imports 6,000 printers and 9,000 computer parts in a financial year, both sets of products must be considered when calculating the share, even if the threshold for computer parts has not been reached. The obligations imposed by this Regulation on liable parties are primarily focused on ensuring accurate calculations of their import or manufacture share. Liable parties, which include individuals or entities that meet certain thresholds in importing or manufacturing televisions or computers, must now include all relevant products in their calculations. This means that if a company imports any number of printers or computer parts, it must account for those products in its calculations for the Scheme, regardless of whether the numerical threshold for those specific products has been met. This obligation is crucial to ensure that the recycling targets under the Scheme are met accurately and in line with public demand. Failure to comply with the obligations set out in this Regulation may result in civil or administrative consequences. Although the specific penalties are not detailed in the Regulation, breaches of the Product Stewardship Act 2011 can generally lead to fines and other enforcement actions. The precise penalties can vary depending on the nature and severity of the breach, but they may include significant monetary fines. These penalties serve to enforce compliance and ensure that the environmental objectives of the Scheme are achieved.

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