ABCL Submission to the Northern Territory Legislative Scrutiny Committee: Review of CDS Expansion

The Australian Beverages Council Limited (ABCL), representing the non-alcoholic beverages industry, provided a submission to the Northern Territory Legislative Scrutiny Committee on the review of Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) expansion. The ABCL welcomes the inclusion of wine, spirits, and larger volume containers and recognises the environmental and circular economy benefits of this expansion.

The submission highlights key concerns about the fairness and practicality of the proposed legislation:

1. Two-tier implementation timelines –
   • Class 1 containers (wine and spirits) are given a two-year transition.
   • Class 2 containers (e.g. large flavoured milk, juice, plain milk, and large water bottles) are given only 12 months.
   • ABCL argues this unequal treatment does not reflect shared challenges across manufacturers and unfairly impacts micro, small, and medium-sized producers, especially given labelling and stock management constraints.
2. Payment and reporting terms –
   • The government proposes annual reporting/payment for small wine and spirit producers.
   • By contrast, long-standing non-alcoholic beverage participants must continue with monthly or quarterly obligations.
   • ABCL contends this creates inequity and adds disproportionate burden on non-alcoholic beverage companies, particularly given their high-volume, low-unit-cost products.
   • If government mandates reporting terms, ABCL calls for them to apply equally across all manufacturers of comparable size.

ABCL Submission to NT Legislative Scrutiny Committee Review of CDS Expansion