Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020

The rules may prescribe kinds of waste material (called regulated waste material) for the purposes of this Act.

The rules may prohibit the export of regulated waste material unless conditions prescribed by the rules (called prescribed export conditions) are complied with.

A person commits an offence, or is liable to a civil penalty, if the person:

The Minister may grant an exemption from one or more provisions of this Act in relation to regulated waste material. An exemption remains in force for up to 12 months, and may be granted subject to conditions. An exemption can be revoked.

The CEO may, on application by a person, grant the person an export licence to carry out a kind of export operations in relation to a kind of regulated waste material.

An export licence is subject to certain conditions and it may remain in force for a specified period or until a specified event occurs. It cannot remain in force for more than 3 years.

An export licence may be varied, renewed, suspended or revoked.

The holder of an export licence must comply with certain obligations, including complying with licence conditions and notifying the CEO of specified events. The CEO may also give written directions to the holder of an export licence which must be complied with.

The Minister must publish certain information on the Department’s website about exemptions that have been granted.

The CEO must publish on NEPA’s website certain information about export licences that have been granted.

The information includes the name of the holder, and the kind of regulated waste material, covered by the exemption or licence.

The Minister and CEO must also prepare quarterly reports containing the information.