- The Crisafulli Government has delivered major reforms to Containers for Change after a Parliamentary Inquiry exposed fundamental failures in the scheme Labor established.
- The reforms which were passed by the Queensland Parliament, will strengthen accountability, lift performance and ensure money within the scheme works harder for Queenslanders.
- Reforms designed to have more containers returned and put more refunds in Queenslanders’ pockets, supporting local charities and community groups, or invested in making Queensland’s environment even better.
- The reforms support the Crisafulli Government’s Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035 Queensland Waste Strategy to improve Queensland recycling, after a decade of decline under Labor.
The Crisafulli Government has delivered on its commitment to fix serious flaws within Queensland’s Containers for Change scheme, passing new reforms through Parliament which will ensure more of the money within the scheme is working for Queenslanders.
The landmark reforms come after a Parliamentary Inquiry exposed fundamental failures in the scheme established under Labor.
The Inquiry found serious problems with the scheme’s design, governance, transparency and oversight, while significant surpluses accumulated and the scheme repeatedly failing to meet its legislated 85 per cent recovery target.
Since the scheme began, it has generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue, but the Inquiry found less than 40 per cent had been returned to Queenslanders through container refunds.
It also found surplus funds had been used to offset beverage industry costs, rather than being reinvested to improve the scheme or support environmental and charitable programs.
Labor established the scheme, Labor had years to get it right, and Labor failed to make the changes needed to ensure it was delivering as it should for Queenslanders.
The Crisafulli Government promised to review the scheme and fix the failures, supporting or supporting-in-principle 20 of the Inquiry’s 21 recommendations.
The reforms, which passed through Queensland Parliament overnight, will:
get more money back to Queenslanders by driving better performance and more container returns;
put surplus funds to work through a clear plan for how money is managed, invested and used;
back local communities and the environment by enabling greater investment in charities, community programs, recycling infrastructure and environmental initiatives;
make the scheme more accountable through independent audits, stronger reporting and greater Ministerial oversight;
fix Labor’s governance failures with stronger independence and accountability requirements for the scheme coordinator and its Board; and
provide relief to small beverage manufactures; and
recycle more containers and materials by strengthening the scheme and expanding what can be recovered (including container lids).
The reforms complement the Crisafulli Government’s Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035 Queensland Waste Strategy, which is driving more recycling, better infrastructure and less waste going to landfill.
Minister Andrew Powell said the reforms were about making Containers for Change deliver more for Queenslanders.
“The Parliamentary Inquiry exposed fundamental failures in the scheme Labor set up and failed to fix,” Minister Powell said.
“We said would clean up Labor’s mess by delivering the transparency, accountability and performance Queenslanders deserve, and these reforms deliver on that promise.
“We want more of the money in this scheme back in Queenslanders’ pockets, supporting local charities and community groups, or invested in making Queensland’s environment even better.
“That means more containers returned, more refunds claimed and a scheme that works harder for Queenslanders.”
An overview of the recommendations is available here: Improving the container refund scheme – qld.gov.au
