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Publications
Fact sheet
Department of the Environment and Heritage, August 2005
You are required to apply for a permit under the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989 (the Act) if you are planning to export or import hazardous waste to, or from, any country.
Information Paper No 4 provides guidance on which wastes are controlled by the Act and which are not.
Any hazardous waste transported under a permit must be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The aim of environmentally sound management (ESM) is to protect human beings and the environment, both within and outside Australia from the harmful effects of the waste.
For exports to non-OECD countries however, there are more stringent requirements under the Act to demonstrate ESM of the waste.
It is important that you are fully aware of these requirements which are outlined in Information Paper No 6. A full definition of esm can be found in the information paper.
The applicant must obtain and present sufficient evidence that the disposal of the waste will be performed in an environmentally sound manner.
Evidence regarding ESM will mostly be in the form of documents and records kept by the disposal facility, or potentially through an independent audit of the disposal facility.
You can find a list of OECD countries at the OECD Internet site: http://www.oecd.org/document/58/0,2340,en_2649_201185_1889402_1_1_1_1,00.html
Any countries not listed in the above list are non-OECD countries.
Information paper No 3. Australian guide to exporting and importing hazardous waste: Applying for a permit, second edition, May 2001, available at: http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/chemicals/hazardous-waste/gdpermits01.html
Information Paper No 4: Guide to controlled and other wastes under Australia's Hazardous Waste Act, June 1998, available at: http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/chemicals/hazardous-waste/paper4.html
Information paper No 6, Assessment of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste destined for recovery operations in non-OECD countries, 1999, available at: http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/chemicals/hazardous-waste/recovery.html
It can take six months or longer as the application may be referred to the Hazardous Waste Technical Group (HWTG) for in-depth technical assessment. The HWTG meets six to ten times a year when needed, and it may take several meetings of HWTG to reach a conclusion.
Higher fees for an export permit to non-OECD country are imposed because of the additional work required for the permit application assessment.
Information paper No 3 has a schedule of fees in Appendix B. For information on current fees, please check with the Hazardous Waste Section.
For general enquiries contact the Hazardous Waste Section, Department of the Environment and Heritage:
A range of information papers and guidance papers are also available at: http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/chemicals/hazardous-waste/index.html
This fact sheet is available as a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the PDF file.
If you cannot access the fact sheet, please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.