SV commissioned MS2 to develop the public policy and business case for handheld battery product stewardship in Australia. The project has been conducted in partnership with ABRI4 and GlobalPSC5 to draw upon the experience of organisations already involved in recycling in Australia as well as lessons from overseas best practice. The scope of batteries covered is consistent with that used by ABRI in their submission6 to all Australian governments seeking regulation under the Act - handheld batteries of up to around 1kg regardless of type. Used lead acid batteries are excluded due to strong existing recovery rates and the need to separate these from other battery chemistries. Appendix A provides detail on material composition by chemistry type for primary/single use (Table A-1) and secondary/rechargeable (Table A-2) batteries. Less than 5% of the 12,000 tonnes of domestic batteries that require disposal in Australia annually are recycled.7 All handheld batteries consumed in Australia are imported. In order to progress towards a shared responsibility approach to batteries at end-of-life, gaining the support of producers8 is essential. The background paper and report have been developed and drafted to provide the foundations for a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) to assist in potential adoption as a national co-regulatory or regulatory approach. Key features of a RIS include problem statements, identification of a range of options (including Australia-specific options for doing nothing as well as voluntary, co-regulatory and regulatory approaches) to address the problem statements, indicative analysis on the potential implementation of each identified option and recommendations for further action.