The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, 3 June 2026 as part of its inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling. The inquiry was referred on 19 January 2026 by the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator the Hon Murray Watt.
The public hearing will provide an opportunity for the Committee to question officials from the CSIRO about photovoltaic research projects that the agency has been working on—including printable solar cells, perovskite-based cells and tandem cells—and how these may assist the development of a circular economy for solar panels in Australia.
Committee Chair, Ms Anne Urquhart MP, said “the Committee will discuss the innovative research work the CSIRO is undertaking on solar cell development to enhance the reuse and recycling potential of future solar panels”.
“We are also keen to unpack the barriers to reuse and recycling of solar panels that CSIRO has identified in its submission to the inquiry, including further research and development required into ways to sustainably recycle silicon, silver and copper from panels—and a current lack of capital investment for specialised recycling machinery”, Ms Urquhart said.
Public hearing details:
Date: Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Time: 10:00am to 11:00am AEST (Canberra)
Location: Committee Room 1R6, Parliament House Canberra and online (audio only).
The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.
Hearing with: CSIRO
Further information, including the terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website.
Media inquiries
Ms Anne Urquhart MP, Chair
Nikita Hillier
0419 584 516
For background information
Committee Secretariat
(02) 6277 4580
[email protected]
For more information about this Committee, you can visit its website. On the site, you can make a submission to the inquiry, read other submissions, and get details for upcoming public hearings. You can also track the Committee and receive email updates by clicking on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
