Waste tracking in Australia, from Queensland to interstate loads

Waste tracking in Australia

Waste tracking in Australia means recording each movement of hazardous waste from the business that hands it over, through the transporter, to the facility that receives it, and reporting that record to the state or territory environment regulator. Queensland calls it "trackable waste". Victoria calls it "reportable priority waste" and tracks loads in EPA Waste Tracker.

There is no single national system, but when controlled waste crosses a border, the National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste between States and Territories) Measure (the Controlled Waste NEPM) requires a consignment authorisation from the destination jurisdiction before the load moves.

Regulated and trackable waste in Queensland

Queensland uses two layers. Under s 42 of the Regulation, regulated waste is commercial or industrial waste of a type, or containing a constituent of a type, mentioned in Schedule 9, Part 1, column 1. Schedule 9, Part 3 sets exclusions. Category 1 or 2 follows the Schedule 9 default, or test results under s 43. Business Queensland has classification guidance for this. Sections 42, 43 and Schedule 9 were amended by the Environmental Legislation Amendment Regulation 2025, so older classification notes may be out of date.

Trackable waste is regulated waste of a type in Schedule 11, under s 71(1). Exemptions include "non-commercial transportation of less than 250kg", pipelines and exemptions granted under s 94. Some older Business Queensland pages still say the codes sit in "Schedule 2E". The current Regulation puts them in Schedule 11.

Who has to track waste in Queensland

Section 72 names the generator, the transporter and the receiver. The generator is the person "from whom the trackable waste is transported (whether the person generated the waste or received it from someone else)". One business can hold several roles, and then it complies for each one.

Queensland duties and the waste tracking certificate

Each role has its own duties. Schedule 12 sets the information each must give.

The generator also has a carrier check. Under s 96 it must not give trackable waste to someone to transport for fee or reward, or in a load over 250 kg, unless that person holds or acts under an environmental authority.

Under ss 75-76, you can submit by paper form, the department's online system, a bulk spreadsheet, or a method approved under s 92. Paper and online submissions are due within 7 days. Bulk spreadsheets are due 7 days after the end of the month in which the transport ended.

The online route is the Online Services Waste Tracking system. You'll need to register as a customer before submitting forms. The generator notifies part 1 of a waste transport certificate, the transporter part 2 and the receiver part 3. The user guide sets out those steps, and a bulk upload is also available. Check Business Queensland for any move to a joint system.

Queensland calls its paper waste tracking certificate a waste transport certificate. Order them from qld.gov.au. Intrastate books hold 50 certificates, and interstate lots hold 10. Submission fees apply and differ by method. Paper costs the most and bulk upload the least.

Part 9 tracking obligations carry a maximum of 20 penalty units for an individual. Where that provision sets no separate corporate maximum, s 181B(3) lets a court fine a company up to five times that.

Waste codes including J120 and N120

The NEPM waste list uses words, not letter-number codes. For waste codes, check the relevant state's list. EPA Tasmania publishes a code list based on Appendix F of the 2019 standard:

States word the same codes their own way. Queensland's Schedule 11 lists J120 as "oil and water mixtures or emulsions, or hydrocarbons and water mixtures or emulsions". NSW words N120 as "Soils contaminated with a substance or waste referred to in this Table". N120 is not on Queensland's list.

Queensland's trackable waste list uses N140, N150, N160, N190, N205 and N220, not N120. If you move contaminated soil in Queensland, check Schedule 11 or ask the Waste Tracking team how to code it.

Victoria's codes sit in Schedule 5 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2021, which marks each code as reportable for transactions, transport or both. PFAS isn't a named entry in NEPM List 1, so check whether another listed waste type still applies.

Interstate controlled waste under the NEPM

The Controlled Waste NEPM provides the national framework for interstate movements. Its latest compilation dates from 1 December 2012. State laws implement the tracking duties.

Controlled waste is waste in List 1 of Schedule A that has one or more List 2 characteristics. Listed wastes are presumed to have a List 2 characteristic unless the destination agency is satisfied otherwise. Examples include waste oil/water mixtures, contaminated soils, asbestos, tyres and PCBs. List 2 uses UN dangerous goods classes and hazard codes H1 to H13.

Clause 13 and Schedule B set these requirements:

1. The producer gets a consignment authorisation from the destination jurisdiction before the waste moves (cl 13(c)). It is an approval with a unique identifier, granted by an agency or a facility the agency delegates.
2. The agency issues or refuses it "within 5 working days following the receipt of a completed application" (cl 13(g)(iv)).
3. The movement information in Schedule B travels with the load: the producer part (waste code, UN number, quantity, receiving facility, authorisation number, dispatch date), the transporter part (vehicle registration, licence numbers, states passed through) and the facility part (treatment type, date of receipt).
4. Everyone keeps tracking records for at least 12 months (cl 13(h)).

Electronic tracking information must still accompany the load in a form police, emergency services or authorised officers can read. Clause 8 excludes intrastate movements, emergencies, samples for analysis or research and approved product recalls, among other cases.

The transporter must not transport trackable waste into Queensland unless the administering executive has, under s 93, assigned a consignment number to the load, or to loads over a 12-month period (s 83(1)). Under s 93 the transporter and receiver must hold environmental authorities, and an application not decided within 10 business days is taken to be refused.

Generator and transporter duties still apply to waste leaving Queensland, and Schedule 12 requires the receiving state's consignment number. Those interstate moves use paper interstate certificates. Business Queensland's interstate page gives the Waste Tracking team's contact details.

Other states at a glance

In IWTS, NSW calls consignment authorisations "Movement Authorisations" and certificates "Movements". Waste coming into NSW needs a consignment authorisation from the approved receiving facility. Waste leaving NSW needs the destination state's authorisation, and NSW EPA's 5-docket paper waste transport certificate.

Section 143 says you must not transport reportable priority waste except in accordance with a permission. Controlled waste moved into or out of Victoria counts as reportable priority waste under the 2021 regulations. Use Waste Tracker for controlled waste entering Victoria. For waste leaving Victoria, track it in the receiving state's electronic system. Solid reportable priority waste also needs an A12 permit and a destination consignment authorisation (EPA Victoria).

RegAffairs AI's answer on waste tracking in Australia compares these duties with citations to source documents.