Australia’s product stewardship landscape is at a critical juncture. Two recent reports, the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence’s (PSCOE’s) Policy Development at a Crossroads and One Planet Consulting‘s The Future of Producer Responsibility in Australia, deliver a consistent message: the current policy framework is too slow, fragmented and narrowly focused on end-of-life outcomes to support a genuinely circular economy.
For stakeholders in electronical and electronic stewardship and the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS), the reports present both a warning and an opportunity. They challenge existing approaches while providing a roadmap for modernising Australia’s oldest regulated product stewardship scheme for electronics.
A shared diagnosis: Australia is falling behind
The PSCOE report argues that Australia continues to rely on piecemeal interventions and incremental policy development despite mounting evidence that stronger lifecycle regulation is needed. It highlights delays in federal action, the absence of national producer responsibility regulations since 2011 (when the NTCRS was regulated), and the failure to fully embrace circular economy principles. Similarly, the One Planet report describes Australia’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system as fragmented, underfunded and increasingly out of step with international best practice. It notes that more than 80 countries now operate mandatory EPR systems, while Australia has not introduced a new regulated national EPR scheme since 2011.
Both reports conclude that voluntary arrangements alone are unlikely to deliver the scale of investment, participation and system-wide transformation required to achieve national circular economy goals.
Implications for e-stewardship and the NTCRS
The NTCRS remains Australia’s most mature, regulated product stewardship scheme and has successfully diverted hundreds of thousands of tonnes of televisions, printers, computers, parts and peripherals from landfill since its introduction. However, both reports warn the NTCRS now risks becoming a legacy model unless it evolves.
ANZRP agrees with this warning, as only small amendments have been made to the NTCRS since its inception. Notably, the NTCRS has not evolved in line with changes in technology in television, computer and printer products since 2011, leaving many obvious products outside of its scope such as modems (you cannot operate computers without them) and streaming devices. The standard weights of these products (used to determine a liable party’s liability) also haven’t been reviewed since 2018.
The One Planet report recommends regulation for additional electrical and electronic products alongside reforms to existing schemes such as the NTCRS. ANZRP supports expanding the scope of the NTCRS to include small household electrical and electronic products and batteries rather than creating new product stewardship schemes for them.
It argues that Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) should play a far broader role in coordinating product supply chains, supporting recycled content, improving product design outcomes and stimulating investment in infrastructure.
Reforming the NTCRS: Building Australia’s Next Generation E-Stewardship Framework
Australia’s product stewardship system is entering a pivotal period of reform. While the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) has successfully established a nationwide network for collecting and recycling end-of-life televisions and computers, emerging policy discussions suggest stewardship schemes of the future must deliver outcomes that extend beyond recycling alone.
ANZRP supports a practical reform agenda that builds on the NTCRS’s success while modernising the scheme to address evolving technologies, emerging waste streams and circular economy objectives.
National harmonisation
Both the PSCOE and One Planet reports highlight the need for stronger national coordination and more consistent stewardship regulation. ANZRP supports a nationally harmonised approach, rather than a fragmented system of separate state-based schemes for batteries, solar PV systems, electrical and electronics products – and how embedded and removable batteries are accounted for. A single national framework would reduce duplication, improve efficiency for obligated brands and provide a simpler experience for consumers and the public. ANZRP also supports stronger federal oversight through a national regulator and producer registry.
Mandatory producer responsibility and stronger enforcement
Effective stewardship requires all obligated producers to contribute fairly. ANZRP supports stronger measures to address free-riders and improve compliance across the sector. As an immediate priority, government should robustly enforce existing NTCRS obligations, including reasonable access provisions and material recovery targets, while exploring reforms that broaden product capture, participation and accountability across the product lifecycle.
Lifecycle stewardship, not just recycling
Future stewardship schemes should encourage better product design, durability, repairability and recycled content, shifting the focus from end-of-life recycling alone to management across the entire product lifecycle. ANZRP supports aligning future NTCRS reforms with circular economy principles, ensuring stewardship schemes drive resource efficiency, product longevity and stronger environmental outcomes.
Data, transparency and performance measurement
Reliable data is fundamental to effective stewardship. ANZRP supports greater transparency through improved producer reporting, stronger performance measurement and better visibility across stewardship supply chains. Practical improvements could include standardised material recovery calculation formulas, enhanced reporting frameworks and measures that improve confidence in recycling outcomes, such as approved recycler certification schemes.
Expanding the scope of product stewardship
The NTCRS was designed around televisions and computers, but electronic products have evolved significantly since its introduction. ANZRP supports expanding stewardship coverage to include a broader range of electrical and electronic products, including small household electronics, accessories and peripherals currently excluded from the NTCRS, as well as emerging products associated with the growing digital infrastructure and the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. This should include the full range of products and equipment being utilised by data centres, which the Basel Action Network (BAN) believes may see e-waste be increased by a factor of 40 to 60 times when compared to previous estimates once cooling systems, power equipment, networking infrastructure and backup systems are included. A broader, nationally consistent scheme would better reflect modern consumption patterns while improving resource recovery outcomes.
A Practical Pathway Forward
To deliver these reforms, ANZRP proposes a practical pathway that builds on the NTCRS’s strong foundation. This includes implementing immediate improvements to the existing Rules, such as introducing an approved recycler list, strengthening the reasonable access model, updating product codes and defining material recovery calculation formulas. Longer term reforms should establish a roadmap for expanding product coverage, strengthening regulation and aligning stewardship with circular economy objectives.
Finally, policy makers should recognise e-waste not simply as a waste challenge, but as a strategic resource opportunity. Electrical and electronic products contain valuable critical minerals and materials that can contribute to Australia’s resource security, local reprocessing capability, repair economy and broader productivity objectives. Stewardship reform provides an opportunity to unlock this value while building a more resilient and circular economy.
ANZRP is pleased to announce that Helen Millicer, the author of the report “The Future of Producer Responsibility in Australia” will address our Member Forum on 19th November in Sydney. All member organisations are welcome and free to attend. To register, please contact Katie Webster at [email protected].