Tyre Stewardship Australia Limited

On 4 December 2023 Tyre Stewardship Australia Limited (TSA) applied for revocation of authorisation AA1000409 and substitution with authorisation AA1000655 to allow for the continuation of the national Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme (Scheme), pursuant to the Guidelines for the Scheme (Guidelines). The Scheme is a voluntary, industry-led program with the primary aim of increasing the recycling rate of end-of-life tyres.

TSA is seeking authorisation for specific provisions of the Guidelines, which govern the Scheme. The Guidelines require, amongst other things, that Scheme members only deal with other members of the Scheme in certain circumstances, and impose a levy on tyre importers, vehicle manufacturers and miners, of a minimum of $0.25 per equivalent passenger unit imported into Australia.

TSA is seeking re-authorisation because an existing authorisation (AA1000409) for the scheme expires on 15 June 2024. TSA advises that the provisions of the guidelines for which re-authorisation is sought have not changed since the previous authorisation was granted.

TSA seeks re-authorisation for a further 3 years. A full copy of TSA’s application for re-authorisation is below.

On 7 June 2024, the ACCC issued a draft determination proposing to grant authorisation for a period of 3 years. The ACCC also granted interim authorisation to TSA to continue the Scheme while the ACCC considers the substantive application.

On 2 September 2024 the ACCC issued a final determination revoking authorisation AA1000409 and granting authorisation AA1000655 with a condition, until 2 September 2027.

A copy of the ACCC’s final determination is available below.

Clarification regarding EOLT recovery

Following the release of the final determination, Tyre Stewardship Australia provided a clarification in respect of one of the references made in the final determination.

Specifically, section 2.12 of the final determination stated that:

‘In Australia overall, around 90% of passenger, bus, and truck EOLTs are recovered (by both Scheme and non-Scheme participants).¹²’

¹²  See Australian Tyre Consumption and Recovery Report (2022), p 1: Information presented 3-year average for tyre recovery and disposal. Consumption refers to the net import and export of new and used tyres to and from Australia.

Tyre Stewardship Australia notes that in 2022-23, 77% of passenger, bus, and truck end-of-life tyres (EOLTs) were recovered (by both Scheme and non-Scheme participants), per the Australian Tyre Consumption and Recovery – 2022-23 Fact Sheet. This was the most up to date figure at the time of the authorisation. Tyre Stewardship Australia noted that the 90% recovery rate referenced from the Australian Tyre Consumption and Recovery Factsheet, March 2022 referred to an average recovery rate covering the three financial year (FY) periods 2018-19 to 2020-21. The recovery rate started to decline in the 2020-21 FY and by 2022-23 FY had dropped to an annual recovery rate of 77%.