For councils
The levy zone includes 39 out of 77 local government areas. This covers around 90 per cent of Queensland’s population and is where the majority of waste is generated and disposed.
Annual payments
The Queensland Government provides councils which dispose of household waste in the levy zone with an annual payment to mitigate the direct impact on households.
The annual payment covers municipal solid waste generated in a local government area that is delivered to a waste disposal site in the levy zone. Municipal solid waste includes household kerbside collected waste (i.e. wheelie bins), domestic self-haul waste and waste from litter bins, street sweepings and public place maintenance.
The amounts for these payments are set out on an annual basis in the regulation, with accounting advice for councils on advanced payment accounting method available. A total of 43 councils are eligible for the advance payments—39 located inside the levy zone and four (Cook, Wujal Wujal, Yarrabah and Palm Island councils) located outside of the levy zone, but which dispose of their waste in the levy zone. Mount Isa City Council will no longer require annual payments from 2027-28. This is due to the Mt Isa local government area moving to the non-levy zone on 1 July 2027.
Councils are also provided with a supplementary payment to offset the direct cost of the levy for most households with a council commercial waste collection service. This may include caravan parks, manufactured home parks, retirement villages, boarding houses, gated communities and rural residents.
To provide certainty to councils all eligible local governments will receive annual payments covering four financial years, as below:
- 2026-27 – paid in 2023
- 2027-28 – paid by 30 June 2026
- 2028-29 and 2029-30 - paid by 31 July 2026.
Annual payments will transition to a waste levy credit system for councils from 2030-31 instead of the current method of providing annual payments by cash. This change will reduce administrative burden for both the state government and councils. A proportion of credits will be tied to local council recycling performance from 2030-31 onwards.
Annual payment calculations
The annual payment amount for the following councils reduces year-on-year, calculated using a baseline tonnage of each councils’ annual average levyable municipal solid waste disposed to landfill in 2019–20 and 2020–21 until the following is reached:
- councils in the metropolitan zone – 30%
- the major regional councils of Bundaberg, Cairns, Fraser Coast, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Somerset, Toowoomba and Townsville – 50%
- other eligible councils – 100% (no annual reduction).
Councils | Annual payments percentage | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022‑23 | 2023‑24 | 2024‑25 | 2025‑26 | 2026‑27 | 2027‑28 | 2028‑29 | 2029‑30 | |
| Metropolitan | 105% | 95%* | 85% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% |
|
Major Regional Councils: Bundaberg, Cairns, Fraser Coast, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Somerset, Toowoomba and Townsville Prior to 1 July 2026 Somerset and Toowoomba were in the metropolitan levy zone. | 105% | 95%* | 85%* | 70% | 60% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Eligible Regional Councils | 105% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
*On 28 June 2024, the seven major regional councils with reducing Annual Payments received top up payments to equal 100%.
Note: Annual payments commenced from 1 July 2023. Baseline to calculate annual payments is 2019-20 and 2020-21 averaged.
Household Waste Payment Scheme
For the small proportion of households that are not be covered by the supplementary payments to council, proprietors of eligible households can apply for assistance under the Household Waste Payment Scheme. Eligible households have either a private commercial waste collection service, or a council commercial waste collection service where the premise is a mix of residential and commercial uses (e.g. a block of flats with shops at the bottom).
More information or to apply: Household Waste Payment Scheme.