National Packaging Reform: Turning brand leadership into consistent outcomes
Tuesday 13 January 2026
In 2023, State and Federal Environment Ministers committed to National Packaging Reform, a package of nationally consistent rules designed to lift packaging design, recyclability and recycled content.
Many brand owners have already made meaningful progress. Across the market we are seeing packaging redesign, clearer labelling, and recycled content trials. These efforts matter, and they are building momentum.
The next step is to back that leadership with clear, nationally consistent settings across all jurisdictions, so responsible action is rewarded, and everyone is working to the same baseline.
Why reform matters now
Australia uses more than 1.3 million tonnes of plastic packaging each year, and more than 1 million tonnes ends up landfilled or littered.
At the same time, imported virgin resin often remains the lowest-cost option, while Australian-made recycled plastic can be around 50% more expensive at times. That cost gap, combined with policy uncertainty, makes it harder for businesses to scale recycled content consistently and for local recyclers to plan and invest with confidence.
In practical terms, the challenge is not a lack of capability. It is that demand for recycled plastic has not kept pace with the supply side investment that has already occurred.
Creating a level playing field
APCO CEO Chris Foley says: “ Australia has built more recycling capability, but demand for locally recycled plastic has not kept pace. National Packaging Reform, including Extended Producer Responsibility, is how the system closes the market gap, backs the brands doing the right thing, and sets consistent national rules that lift performance across the whole market.”
Extended Producer Responsibility helps address a key issue in a voluntary environment. It reduces uneven contribution across the market by setting a clear baseline. This helps ensure businesses that invest in better packaging are not undercut by those doing less, and it creates the certainty needed to accelerate progress.
What the analysis shows
Analysis indicates National Packaging Reform could deliver significant benefits by 2030, including:
- Reducing landfill waste by around 370,000 tonnes each year
- Cutting around 700,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions each year, avoiding around $2 billion in environmental costs
- Attracting around $220 million in private investment, creating around 19,000 jobs, and adding around $2.5 billion in value to the economy
- Modelling suggests the impact on product prices is small, at around 0.1% of product cost.
What success looks like
- National Packaging Reform is an opportunity to convert progress into consistent outcomes by:
- Setting clear national standards and timeframes
- Building demand for Australian recycled plastic, so recycling capability is used and expanded
- Supporting brand owners to scale recycled content through workable transition arrangements
- Strengthening confidence for investment across the value chain
This is not about naming and shaming. It is about modernising the policy settings so good faith efforts by leading brands translate into system-wide performance, with clear expectations for all.
“Industry is ready to lead, but we need strong, nationally consistent policy signals from government. This term of government is the window to move National Packaging Reform from commitment to implementation, with a practical transition plan that supports businesses and strengthens local recycling.”