1. Daily Telegraph article highlights Government intentions
2. BSC pleased with initial response to request for support 
3. Important to send us your letters of support
4. Update on ACCC authorisation application process
5. Clarification on membership fees
6. Recap of previous Communique for those who missed it:
7. Battery Stewardship Council seeks your formal support
8. Become a founding member of the newly incorporated Battery Stewardship Council
9. Moving from Scheme design to Scheme operations
10. Thank you!

Daily Telegraph article highlights Government intentions

Over the Christmas break, the Daily Telegraph published an article that provides the clearest indication yet that the Government is set to introduce a mandatory scheme if an industry scheme is not established.  Given analysis which showed that a mandatory scheme would cost double that of an industry led scheme, and with the burden most likely falling on the retail sector,  a mandatory arrangement would not be welcomed by Australian industry.  

The clear message BSC received during consultation from Australian industry representatives is that a regulatory approach is best avoided due to the cost and complexity of compliance schemes.

The article also provided an indication of support for the Scheme from the Prime Minister of Australia.  This on top of wide industry and government consultation which agreed that the Scheme as proposed provides a valuable starting point for increasing battery collections in Australia.

BSC pleased with initial response to request for support 

The BSC is very pleased with the response to our request for support, with key industry, government, and community representatives submitting letters of support.  Significant industry associations, government agencies and many BSC members have already submitted their letters of support and there are more to come as we near the submission date for the ACCC authorisation.   This support will be key as we move to the next stage of seeking authorisation for the Scheme from the ACCC.

Important to send us your letters of support

Its not too late!  Please send us your letter of support by following the links below.    If you are supportive in principle but have some concerns, please give us a call so we can discuss how to make sure your input can be part of the process.   If you need additional time, please let us know as we would appreciate knowing your organisation is on board. 

 We have an opportunity to make a real difference and to partner together in the deployment of a unique approach to battery stewardship.   

Update on ACCC authorisation application process

BSC is currently working with our legal counsel to prepare the ACCC application for authorisation.   Due to the impact of the Christmas and holiday period we are now planning  to review and refine the draft application over the new couple of  weeks and anticipate that the submission date will be mid to late February.  This also gives us a little extra time for additional organisations to send in their letters of support.

Clarification on membership fees

Financial membership of BSC enables members to nominate as Directors and provides a voting right.  Membership fee is $1000 per annum and due on anniversary of first payment. Once members that have levy liability commence payment of a levy, their membership fee is in included in the levy payment. 

However until the levy is being paid, financial membership is only obtainable through payment of the membership fee of $1000 and adjustments will be made once any levy is being paid. To be fully involved in BSC decision making we urge you to seek for financial membership as soon as a possible.

Please continue reading if you missed the previous BSC Communique due to the holiday season

Recap of previous Communique for those who missed it:

Battery Stewardship Council seeks your formal support

The Battery Stewardship Council is seeking your formal support for the Scheme Design which will be submitted to the ACCC in support of the proposed Scheme. We would appreciate a show of support in the form of a letter to the BSC. A template letter is provided for you to adapt to suit your organisations.

Ideally we would like to receive letters of support by the end of next week, however we realise that this may be difficult given the time required to seek internal approval for some organisations.  If that is the case, please just keep us in the loop so we can plan accordingly.   

Battery Stewardship Council releases the final version of the proposed Scheme design

The Scheme design which was posted on the BSC website last week provides the basis for an effective and efficient industry scheme, and includes resolution of a range of issues raised in the consultation process. This feedback provided invaluable in refining and improving the design of the Scheme and our response to that feedback has been published in Briefing Note # 7 and the final scheme design.  

Section 1.2 of the Scheme Design document identifies the changes made as a result of industry input.

​Background for people new to the Battery Stewardship Scheme 

If you are new to the Battery Stewardship Scheme design process, you can quickly get an idea of what is involved by looking at our overview presentation.  The presentation lays out why battery stewardship is important and in the second half describes the scheme design.   Please send us an email or give us a call if you would to discuss any of the elements.

Government signals strong support

All the governments of Australia met in November and have since advised that they strongly support the proposed model for an industry-led scheme.  

As recently as last week, the Commonwealth Minister for Environment on behalf of all governments, clearly indicated that in the absence of a robust industry led response to battery stewardship, they will consider a regulation-based approach. Industry representations during the Battery Stewardship Scheme consultation process made it very clear that the Australian industry much prefer an industry-led approach in which we are able to design, implement and improve stewardship actions according to changing market conditions and to do so at a much lower cost.

Become a founding member of the newly incorporated Battery Stewardship Council

As part of the final stage of Scheme design, the BSC has identified the preferred arrangement for membership and governance. This includes translation of all BSC current members to the Associate Membership Category of BSC limited. This category provides same rights as currently existed in the unincorporated BSC, i.e. no membership fee but no voting rights.

We have created a new category of financial members of BSC which provides voting rights for directorships with an annual fee of $1,000 per annum (bearing in mind that the costs of the Scheme itself are to be borne primarily by the levy). We invite you to now upgrade to a financial member status in BSC, so that we can proceed in the near future with new governance arrangements including the seeking of nominations for the Board and voting where necessary.

This presents your organisation with an important opportunity to take a leadership as a founding member to address one of the major waste priorities for governments in Australia. 

Moving from Scheme design to Scheme operations

We acknowledge that there are matters of detail that will need to be addressed in the development of operational systems and procedures, however none of the issues will prevent the ACCC consideration an application at this time. The operational systems and procedures will be established in consultation with industry after the ACCC makes its determination. We will include a commitment to conduct this consultation in our application to the ACCC. 

We will also make it clear in the ACCC application that more work and consultation is needed on the issue of embedded batteries to determine:

• the most appropriate stewardship scheme and /or approach for toys and small appliances
• whether the design can apply in its current form to Electric Vehicle and Energy storage batteries or whether some tailoring will be required to ensure that it addresses the specific needs of those sectors of the industry.

Thank you!

This stage represents the culmination of extensive work and discussions by BSC members and the broader industry. The process began in 2013 when batteries where first listed by Government as a priority for action. For those of us who are close to the process it is clear that the time for action is now. We have an opportunity to lead the way to achieving an industry-led Scheme. 

BSC would like to take this opportunity to thank you in particular,  for engaging in this important initiative, for discussing the challenges and possible solutions, and for providing advice and feedback during each stage of the design process. Only by imagining the possibilities and working through the options have we been able to reach this important milestone.