Australia Waste Tracking Regulations

Australia has no single national waste-tracking system. Each state and territory tracks hazardous waste under its own law. Queensland calls it "trackable waste" (part of "regulated waste"), NSW calls it trackable waste, Victoria "reportable priority waste", WA, SA and Tasmania "controlled waste", and the NT "listed waste". When waste crosses a state border, the Movement of Controlled Waste NEPM links these systems. Under the NEPM, the waste producer needs a consignment authorisation from the destination jurisdiction before the waste moves, and tracking paperwork travels with the load. J120 (oil/hydrocarbon and water mixtures or emulsions) is on Queensland's trackable list. N120 is the national code for soils contaminated with a controlled waste, but the official Queensland pages I found didn't confirm whether it is on Queensland's list.

Approach: I used the Queensland State of the Environment 2020 trackable-waste data for tonnages. The legal rules come from official government sources (Queensland legislation and Business Queensland, NEPC, DCCEEW and the state and territory EPAs), read through search-result summaries rather than the full legal texts.

Queensland

What is regulated and what is trackable

• Regulated waste: commercial or industrial waste of a type, or containing a constituent of a type, listed in Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Regulation 2019.
  • Category 1 covers liquid waste, or solid waste without current test results, where Schedule 9 marks the waste type as category 1.
  • Tested solid waste is also category 1 if its pH is below 2 or above 12.5, or if a Schedule 9, Part 2 substance exceeds its threshold.
  • Everything else is category 2.
• Trackable waste: regulated waste of a type listed in Schedule 11. Other jurisdictions call this "controlled waste".
• Waste codes: taken from Schedule 2E and must be used when submitting tracking information. Examples on the Queensland list:
  • J120: oil/hydrocarbon and water mixtures or emulsions
  • T140: tyres
  • N140: fire debris and fire washwaters
• N120: in the national hazardous waste reporting standard (DCCEEW), N120 is "soils contaminated with a controlled waste", applied where contaminant levels exceed that jurisdiction's landfill acceptance criteria. Asbestos-contaminated soil may be coded N120 or N220 depending on the state.

Who must do what (generator, transporter, receiver)

Party	Main duties
Generator	Give the prescribed information (Schedule 12) to the transporter; submit it to the department (DETSI); keep records for at least 5 years
Transporter	Carry the generator's information; hand it to the receiver on delivery; record and submit tracking information. Applies to commercial and industrial regulated waste in any quantity, and to non-commercial loads of more than 250 kg of trackable waste
Receiver	Get the prescribed information from the transporter; keep records for at least 5 years

How tracking records are submitted

• Online: through DETSI's Online Services waste tracking system, either one movement at a time or by bulk data-file upload.
• Paper: waste transport certificates. The pink and white copies go to the Waste Tracking Unit within 7 days.
• Disposal and treatment codes are set out in Schedule 17.
• Exemptions from tracking can be sought under a DETSI guideline.

Waste crossing the Queensland border

• Into Queensland: you apply to DETSI for a consignment authorisation. Moving trackable waste into Queensland without a consignment number is an offence under section 93 of the Regulation.
• Out of Queensland: the state receiving the waste must authorise it and issue the consignment number before the waste moves.

Interstate volumes (SoE 2020 data)

• Trackable waste received into Queensland from other states rose from 12,687 t in 2011-12 to 120,120 t in 2018-19 ^[1].
• NSW was the largest source. In 2018-19 it sent 31,809 t of oils, hydrocarbons and emulsions ^[2] and 51,058 t of solid/sludge wastes requiring special handling ^[3].
• Within Queensland in 2018-19, 363,761 t of trackable waste was landfilled ^[4] and 733,364 t recovered ^[5].

Interstate movements under the NEPM

The National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste between States and Territories) Measure applies to controlled waste from commercial, trade, industrial or business activities. It works like this:

• What counts as controlled waste: a waste on Schedule A, List 1 (for example acids, asbestos, clinical waste, lead, mercury, waste mineral oils, pharmaceuticals) that also has at least one of the List 2 hazard characteristics.
• Consignment authorisation: before moving the waste, the producer obtains an authorisation with a unique number from the destination jurisdiction's agency, or from a licensed receiving facility it has delegated. The authorisation is issued or refused within 5 working days of a complete application.
• Tracking documents: the waste travels with information in a form approved by the state of origin. Part 1 is filled in by the producer and covers:
  • a description of the waste and the destination state
  • the producer's name, address, phone and emergency contact
  • the consignment authorisation number and producer identification number
  • the date of dispatch
• Records: states must keep tracking-system records for at least 12 months.
• In practice, the destination state's system is used:
  • NSW and SA say movements are recorded in the destination state's tracking system.
  • Victoria requires tracking in the receiving state's electronic system, with a hard copy carried with the load.

Other states and territories

Jurisdiction	Waste covered	Main tracking points
NSW	Trackable waste under Schedule 1 of the POEO (Waste) Regulation 2014: Part 1 (tracked within NSW or interstate), Part 2 (interstate only), Part 3 (hazard characteristics)	Consignment authorisation, then transport certificates for each load, mostly through the Online Waste Tracking system. The consignor reports within 3 days of the transport starting. An environment protection licence is needed to carry more than 200 kg or L per load. For waste leaving NSW, the CA comes from the destination state and the paper system is used; NSW facilities can issue CAs online for waste coming in
Victoria	Reportable priority waste (Environment Protection Regulations 2021)	Waste Tracker replaced paper transport certificates from 1 July 2021. Transport needs an A10a permit (high-risk codes B100, E100, G100, R100) or A10b registration. Moving solid reportable priority waste out of Victoria needs an A12 permit. Interstate carriers exempted from A10a/A10b must still use Waste Tracker for waste entering Victoria
WA	Controlled waste (Environmental Protection (Controlled Waste) Regulations 2004)	Licensed carriers are required for road transport. Each load uses an individually numbered controlled waste tracking form, issued by DWER through the online Controlled Waste Tracking System or as paper booklets
SA	Listed waste (Schedule 1, Part B of the Environment Protection Act 1993)	Transport certificates in WasteTracker. Interstate movements fall under the Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste) Policy 2014
Tasmania	Controlled waste	No movement into or out of Tasmania without a consignment authorisation from the receiving jurisdiction. Registered transporters must carry approved tracking documents in the vehicle cab
NT	Listed waste (Schedule 2 of the Waste Management and Pollution Control (Administration) Regulations 1998)	All listed waste must be tracked. Consignment authorisations and waste transport certificates are handled through the NT EPA Online portal. Interstate loads must carry a waste transport certificate, the licence and a load manifest
ACT	Controlled waste	Allow 5 working days for a consignment authorisation. The producer sends its section of the transport certificate to the EPA on dispatch. If the destination facility hasn't confirmed receipt within 14 days, the producer must notify the EPA in writing

Sources:

• Business Qld – List of trackable waste
• Business Qld – Generator obligations
• Business Qld – Transporter obligations
• Business Qld – Receiver obligations
• Business Qld – Submitting information
• Business Qld – Transporting interstate
• Qld Environmental Protection Regulation 2019
• DES – Completing waste transport certificates
• NEPC – MCW NEPM (varied)
• DCCEEW – Australian hazardous waste data and reporting standard 2025
• NSW EPA – Tracking waste out of NSW
• NSW EPA – Consignment authorisations
• NSW POEO (Waste) Regulation 2014
• EPA Victoria – Transport waste interstate
• WA – Controlled waste fact sheet 3
• EPA SA – Transporting waste interstate
• EPA SA – Controlled waste NEPM
• EPA Tasmania – Interstate movements
• NT EPA – Waste tracking
• Access Canberra – Interstate controlled waste producers