Review of the Effectiveness of the Waste Disposal Levy
The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (the Act) established a waste disposal levy (the levy) which has been applied to waste disposed of at disposal facilities, since 1 July 2009.
The Act outlines two purposes for the levy:
- to raise revenue for promoting and achieving waste minimisation
- to increase the cost of waste disposal to recognise that disposal imposes costs on the environment, society and the economy.
The levy is currently set at a rate of $10 + GST per tonne.
Under section 39 of the Act, the Minister for the Environment was required to review the effectiveness of the levy by 1 July 2011, with advice from the Waste Advisory Board. Further reviews are then required no more than three years apart. This first review focuses primarily on reviewing progress in the activity of implementing the levy, and achieving the levy's short-term outcomes.
The review found:
- the levy has been introduced and is operating as intended
- at this stage there is not sufficient evidence to determine the extent to which levy avoidance or perverse outcomes of the levy are occurring
- to date, no evidence was found of an increase in incidence or volumes of illegally dumped waste
Read the Review of the effectiveness of the waste disposal levy, 2011 report
Supporting documents
Last updated: 22 March 2012
