Who is required to pay the levy
Under Section 88 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act), scheduled waste facilities are required to pay a levy on each tonne of waste received at the facility.
A 'scheduled waste facility' is a waste facility that is required to be licensed under Schedule 1 of the POEO Act.
The levy is designed to encourage resource recovery and recycling of waste. It is generally added to the disposal charges set by landfills and provides businesses, councils and individuals with an incentive to reduce the amount of waste they generate and encourages them to seek legitimate alternatives to landfill disposal.
Scheduled waste facilities:
-
-
-
-
in the
rest of NSW that receive waste from the SMA, ERA or RRA
must complete waste contributions monthly reports (WCMR) and pay the levy.
If your scheduled waste facility is located in the rest of NSW and receives waste only from within the rest of NSW, report using the yearly form available from reporting forms.
Who is not required to pay the levy
Waste facilities that are used solely for the purposes of reusing, recycling, processing or recovering waste are not required to pay the levy. Waste facilities used solely for the purposes of disposing virgin excavated natural material are also not required to pay the levy.
Nil reports
- Scheduled facilities in the SMA or ERA or RRA:
If no waste was received in the month, you are still required to create and submit the report with no data entered ( a 'nil' report). A nil report must still be e-certified by an OEH-approved e-certifier (see user privileges: e-certifier). When you e-certify the report you will be asked to acknowledge and certify certain information.
- Scheduled facilities in the rest of NSW:
If no waste was received in the month from the SMA or ERA or RRA, you are not required to submit a nil monthly report.
- All scheduled facilities
If no waste was received this month but you want to claim a deduction for waste leaving the facility, you must also complete the deductions section of the monthly report and submit it to OEH.
The location where waste is generated in/sourced from and received determines the contribution rate payable. Different rates apply in the Sydney metropolitan area (SMA), extended regulated area (ERA), regional regulated area (RRA) and rest of NSW. The amount of levy due to be paid by a facility is calculated yearly and is based on a combination of where the waste was generated or originally sourced from (SMA, ERA, RRA) and where it was received (SMA, ERA, RRA).
The online system will automatically apply the levy rate applicable for your facility location (see Note).
| Waste received in: |
Waste generated in/sourced from: |
Applicable levy rate |
| SMA |
SMA |
SMA |
| SMA |
ERA |
SMA |
| SMA |
RRA |
SMA |
|
SMA |
REST OF NSW |
SMA |
| ERA |
SMA |
SMA |
| ERA |
ERA |
ERA |
| ERA |
RRA |
ERA |
| ERA |
REST OF NSW |
ERA |
| RRA |
SMA |
SMA |
| RRA |
ERA |
ERA |
|
RRA |
RRA |
RRA |
|
RRA |
REST OF NSW |
RRA |
|
REST OF NSW |
SMA |
SMA |
|
REST OF NSW |
ERA |
ERA |
|
REST OF NSW |
RRA |
RRA |
- If your scheduled waste facility is located in the ERA and you receive waste from both the SMA and the ERA regions, you must submit both an SMA and an ERA report. In this case, before submitting online contact OEH's Waste Management Section or email wastehelp@environment.nsw.gov.au.
- If your scheduled waste facility is located in the Rest of NSW, and is licensed, and you receive waste from the SMA, ERA or RRA you must submit a report for each region from which waste was received. In this case, before submitting online contact OEH or email wastehelp@environment.nsw.gov.au.
Certain
wastes may be exempted from calculation of the levy under clause 10 of the
Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005.
Clause 5 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005 sets out how the waste and environment levy is determined. The levy rate will increase as follows:
|
Period |
SMA |
ERA |
RRA |
|
2005-2006 |
22.70 |
15.00 |
NA |
|
2006-2007 |
30.40 |
23.10 |
NA |
|
2007-2008 |
38.60 |
31.60 |
NA |
|
2008-2009 |
46.70 |
40.00 |
NA |
|
2009-2010 |
58.80 |
52.40 |
10.00 |
|
2010-2011 |
70.30 |
65.30 |
20.40 |
|
2011-2012 |
82.20 |
78.60 |
31.10 |
|
2012-2013 |
92.20 |
90.10 |
41.10 (not including future CPI* adjustments) |
| Notes:
In the SMA the levy will increase at a rate of $10/tonne per year until 2015-16. Under these arrangements, the levy will be $82.20 in 2011-12 (including CPI) and $92.20 in 2012-13 (in today’s dollars).
In the ERA the levy will increase by an additional $11.50/tonne per year until 2013-14 when the SMA and ERA will reach parity, from which time the increase for the ERA will also be at a rate of $10 per year. Under these arrangements, the levy will be $78.60 in 2011-12 (including CPI) and $90.10 in 2012-13 (in today’s dollars).
In the RRA the levy will increase at a rate of $10/tonne per year until 2015-16. Under these arrangements, the levy will be $31.10 in 2011-12 (including CPI) and $41.10 in 2012-13 (in today’s dollars).
*CPI: Consumer Price Index (All Groups Index) for Sydney issued by the Australian Statistician. |
Before the beginning of each financial year, OEH notifies scheduled waste facilities of the levy rates (including adjustments for CPI) applicable for each region for that year. Those licensed facilities required to pay the waste levy must submit monthly reports (a waste contributions monthly report - WCMR) to the Department of all waste received at the facility in order to substantiate their levy liability.
Where the facility has kept inadequate records, the levy will be calculated differently. See clause 6 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005.
The waste contributions monthly report and contribution payment are due within 56 days of the last day of the reporting month.
For example: If the reporting month is July 2008, the July report would be due on the 25th September 2008. In this example, this would therefore be the last day on which the report and the levy payment is due.
Reporting
Maximum penalty for failing to submit a WCMR report as required:
- 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation
- 100 penalty units in the case of an individual.
A penalty notice may also be issued.
See clause 13, Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005.
Payment
Failure to pay the s.88 contribution as required and within the time prescribed by OEH is an offence carrying heavy penalties. Maximum penalty:
- in the case of a corporation: $1,000,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $120,000 for each day the offence continues
- in the case of an individual: $250,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $60,000 for each day the offence continues.
Unpaid and late payments attract interest in the amount set out in Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, and clause 8 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005.
OEH reviews all e-certified waste contribution reports to check for completeness and, as far as is ascertainable, the accuracy of information provided. Some internal processing of the data is also undertaken at this stage. OEH will contact you with any queries it may have arising from the review.
Important: The review is not an audit and does not constitute approval of your report. The information provided in your report, including the calculation of the contribution payable, can be audited by OEH at any time.
Occupiers of licensed waste facilities must keep accurate records of:
- the movement of waste into the facility
- the movement of waste within the facility
- the movement of waste material or recycled, recovered or processed material out of the facility,
For at least 3 years, and ensure these records are available for inspection and audit by an authorised OEH officer.
The onus of proving claims for the amounts of waste on which the waste contribution was calculated, or for exemptions or deductions, rests with the occupier. Failure to maintain proper records will result in facilities having to pay additional waste contributions, or repay previous deduction or exemption claims.
Records include plans, specifications, maps, reports, books and other documents (such as weighbridge dockets, and exemption approvals issued to organisers of community services), whether in writing, in electronic form or otherwise.
Serious cases of non-compliance with the record-keeping provisions could result in the issue of penalty notices or prosecution action.
See the record keeping provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005.
Resources and Guidance Notes
The Waste and Environment Levy Operational Guidance Notes provide comprehensive information for waste operators on paying the levy, claiming deductions and meeting record keeping requirements.
Material composition codes
Data for material composition is managed with codes.
- Paper reports: when completing the paper forms, use the tables for Material composition codes
- Online reports: the online report will automatically insert the correct code for your selection.
Weighbridges and weight conversion factors
Occupiers of landfills that receive more than 20,000 tonnes of waste per year (10,000 tonnes from 1 September 2006) are required to install an approved weighbridge. Where a weighbridge is installed you are required to report waste received in the quantities recorded by the weighbridge.
For small vehicles, where the quantity of waste is determined using weight conversion factors, the online report will automatically calculate the weight of waste received from the number of small vehicles entered.
Glossary
See the Glossary of waste reporting terms.
Legislation
|
TIP |
|
Use the tips & shortcuts in the user guide to make completing your online reports easier. |
When reporting online:
- Click the
for more information about screen items
- Click the 'User guide' link on each report screen for infomation on how to complete the screen
- See the 'Tips' in the user guide for tricks and shortcuts to make completing your online report easier.
More information
For more information about the levy rate, how to submit a waste contributions monthly report, or online reporting contact OEH's Waste Management Section,or email wastehelp@environment.nsw.gov.au.
Hard copies of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2005 can be obtained from the NSW Government Information Bookshop (phone: 1300 656 986) or viewed on the NSW Government legislation website at: www.legislation.nsw.gov.au.
