As solar panel waste grows with the transition to renewable energy, new laws in NSW will impose obligations on ‘brand owners’ of solar panels to ensure they are responsibly collected and recycled at the end of their lifecycle. In this article, we unpack the key provisions of the proposed Regulation and the possible implications for manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and installers of solar panels.

The proposed Regulation 

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has released for public consultation the draft Product Lifecycle Responsibility Amendment (Photovoltaic Panels) Regulation 2026 (Draft Regulation), together with an explanatory document and a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS). If made, the Draft Regulation will establish a mandatory ‘product stewardship scheme’ for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels supplied in New South Wales. 

This would be the second product (after household batteries) to be regulated under the State's new product stewardship framework. The framework aims to minimise the impact of products on human health and the environment throughout their lifecycle, ensuring that those who supply a product are responsible for minimising its potential harm.

The policy behind the Draft Regulation is clear:

• Australia is entering a period of accelerating growth in end-of-life solar PV panels, with more than 4.2 million rooftop PV systems already installed nationwide, supported by strong government incentives and declining technology costs. 
   
• PV panel waste in NSW is expected to increase around six-fold, from approximately 14,000 tonnes in 2025–26 to around 89,000 tonnes by 2045–46. 
   
• While up to 95% of a PV panel can potentially be re-used or recycled, most end-of-life panels are landfilled, exported or stockpiled, and degrading panels can leach toxic metals such as lead.

What products does the Draft Regulation apply to?

As presently drafted, the scheme will apply to "regulated PV panels", being photovoltaic panels that are either a monocrystalline (or mono) panel or a bifacial panel. The RIS indicates this is intended to capture installed (including rooftop) non-portable panels, whether large, commercial or residential. 

The Draft Regulation expressly excludes:

•  portable photovoltaic panels;
• accessories connected to a PV panel; and
• energy storage systems and batteries. 

However, the EPA has signalled the scheme settings will be reviewed and scaled up over time, which may include expanding the scheme to cover further technologies and products that are currently excluded.

Who is impacted?

The key obligations will fall on ‘brand owners’ of regulated PV panels and on any product stewardship organisation (PSO) appointed to administer the scheme.

Importantly for importers and distributors, a ‘brand owner’ is the owner of the product name (including trade marks) under which the product is supplied in NSW, including the brand owner of the packaging material of the product. The Draft Regulation extends that definition to also include the person responsible for bringing the panel into NSW for supply (though a person who only transports a panel (including related warehousing) for another person is not taken to fall within this definition).

PSOs are entities that manage a scheme on behalf of brand owners. The EPA proposes to run a competitive process to identify one or more suitable PSOs.

What are the main obligations under the stewardship scheme?

The obligations depend on whether the EPA has entered into a stewardship administration agreement with a PSO for the relevant type of panel.

Where a PSO is in place (the intended model), a brand owner supplying regulated PV panels in NSW must be a party to an agreement with the PSO (in effect, join the scheme) setting out how the scheme's general and safety requirements will be achieved. Brand owners will also need to:

• notify the EPA and the relevant PSO before first supplying their product into NSW;
• keep records of how they have informed the public, electricians and others in the supply chain about the safe disposal and recycling of their panels, and of the total number and weight of each type of regulated PV panel supplied in NSW each financial year; and
• provide an annual report to the EPA and the relevant PSO.

The PSO becomes the "responsible entity". It must:

• prepare an action plan within three months of entering the agreement for EPA approval; and 
• keep detailed records and provide quarterly and annual reports, including on panels collected, materials recovered, and its revenue, expenditure and financial position.

Where there is no PSO (a contingency only), each brand owner becomes the “responsible entity” and must itself prepare and lodge its own action plan within three months, and report annually, including on its expenditure on education, collection and storage, and recycling.

Broadly, the product stewardship requirements include, so far as reasonably practicable, preventing disposal of regulated PV panels in household, commercial or industrial waste streams, in landfill or by export; maximising panel recovery and recycling of materials (particularly high value or critical metals); keeping consumers and the supply chain informed; and considering the development of local recycling capability. They also include safety requirements, such as taking all reasonable steps to ensure panels remain intact during collection, transport and storage, and ensuring there are sufficient, safe and accessible collection points in both metropolitan and regional areas.

What penalties may apply?

‘Brand owners’ will face civil and criminal penalties for failing to comply with the requirements and obligations listed above. Failure to comply may attract penalties of up to 8,000 penalty units for corporations (approximately $880,000) for safety requirements, and up to 4,000 penalty units (approximately $440,000) for other requirements, plus continuing offence penalties of up to 800 penalty units per day the offence continues. 

What comes next?

The Draft Regulation is currently open for public consultation until 16 November 2026. From there, the EPA will review public feedback and anticipates that the regulation will commence in early 2028.  

For businesses that import, distribute or sell regulated PV panels in NSW, now is the time to:

• map supply chains to identify who will be the ‘brand owner’;
• review which products fall within the scope of the scheme;
• put in place systems to capture the number and weight of panels supplied each financial year, and to record consumer and installer education activities; and
• consider making a submission on the Draft Regulation, particularly on the brand owner definition, product scope and the treatment of legacy panels.