About Queensland's waste levy
The Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035: Queensland Waste Strategy (Waste Strategy) aims to achieve an overall 65 per cent recycling rate and cut waste to landfill by 2.6 million tonnes by 2035. The strategy is a practical, ambitious plan focused on making recycling easier for households and businesses, investing in modern infrastructure, building stronger markets for recycled materials and tackling priority wastes including organics, plastics, batteries, mattresses, e-waste (including solar panels), textiles and tyres.
The Waste Strategy is underpinned by Queensland’s waste disposal levy. The levy is payable on all waste (including waste generated in another state or territory) disposed to a levyable waste disposal site within the levy zone or, if it has been generated within the levy zone and disposed of to a landfill outside the levy zone in Queensland (see levy liabilities table).
The levy is designed to provide a price signal to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, encourage waste avoidance, provide a source of funding to enable better resource recovery and unlock industry investment in resource recovery infrastructure.
Waste levy revenue is reinvested into waste reduction and recycling activities and other environmental portfolio initiatives (see Funding and Grants).
The levy zone is divided into two areas, covering 39 out of Queensland's 77 local government areas:
- the metro zone—comprising 10 south-east Queensland local government areas
- the regional zone—made up of the remaining 29 local government areas in the current levy zone.
Why have a waste levy?
The waste levy aims to:
- reduce the amount of waste going to landfill
- encourage waste avoidance
- provide a source of funding to enable better resource recovery practices
- provide certainty and security of feedstocks for advanced technology
- facilitate industry investment in resource recovery infrastructure.
All waste going to landfill in Queensland will incur the relevant levy rate unless the waste is both generated and disposed of in the non-levy zone. There are exemptions for some specific types of waste, such as waste that results from a declared disaster.
The levy rate to be applied depends on which levy area the waste is generated in and which levy area it is disposed in. Please refer to the levy rate web page to understand how the levy rates are to be determined.
Who pays the levy?
Landfill operators (local councils and private businesses) pay the levy to the Queensland Government based on the amount of leviable waste disposed of to landfill.
Disposal of waste for the purposes of the waste levy is any activity that is required to be licensed under the EP Act for waste disposal (ERA60). View the requirements for waste disposal site operators for more information.
Landfill operators will make a business decision on whether, and how, the levy is passed through to their customers.
Impact on households
The Queensland Government is mitigating the impact of the waste levy on households. To deliver this, councils receive annual payments to offset some of the costs of the waste levy liability incurred on the disposal of household and some other municipal solid wastes. The waste levy is an avoidable cost if less is disposed to landfill and more materials are recycled. That is why the Queensland Government is supporting programs to reduce waste and increase recycling through the Waste Reduction and Recycling Activation Fund.
Annual payment amounts are set out in the regulation.
For councils with households serviced by a commercial waste collection service, an additional payment to offset the direct cost of the waste levy is provided. This includes caravan parks, manufactured home parks, retirement villages, boarding houses, gated communities and rural residents with commercial bulk-waste arrangements.
Proprietors of eligible residential premises with a private waste collection service (i.e. not provided by council) or a mix of commercial and residential use, regardless of who provides the service, are able to apply for funding to offset the cost of the levy to those residents.
Waste levy review 2025-26
As part of the development of Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035: Queensland Waste Strategy, the Queensland Government committed to undertaking a review of the waste levy settings. Further information is available on the Levy legislation page.
