Abstract
The transition from linear to circular economic models has gained international traction in response to escalating environmental degradation. This research offers a critical interpretive analysis of the regulatory dimensions shaping circular economy (CE) implementation in Australia, motivated by limited domestic scholarship and persistent policy inertia. Rather than treating regulatory barriers as discrete policy failures, this work reframes them as manifestations of systemic dysfunction embedded within complex institutional, economic, and political arrangements. Situated within the interdisciplinary domains of regulatory theory, environmental governance, and circular economy transitions, the study applies, and extends, a systems lens to examine how regulation simultaneously enables and constrains CE reform. A targeted literature review was undertaken to collate academic and policy sources, followed by a theoretical reconceptualisation of regulatory dysfunctions from a novel regulatory systems perspective. The analysis identifies three consistently emergent categories of regulatory barriers: (1) barriers to regulation, (2) regulation as the barrier, and (3) lack of regulation. These findings underscore that both the presence and absence of regulation contribute to implementation challenges. Moreover, regulatory barriers are shown to arise through layered and interdependent processes that resist resolution via narrow policy interventions. The research highlights the inherent complexity and unpredictability of regulatory systems, which often exhibit resistance to change and produce unintended outcomes. It concludes that advancing CE reform in Australia requires more than policy innovation- it necessitates deeper engagement with the regulatory sub-system and its entanglement with broader structural dynamics.
Presenters
Morgan O'NeillStudent, Doctor of Philosophy, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education, Assessment and Policy
KEYWORDS
Circular Economy; Regulation; Barriers; Sustainability; Systems Thinking; Environmental Policy
