Apply for a licence to export regulated waste

Apply for a licence when:

we regulate the waste material you want to export
you own the waste to be exported
the waste material meets licensing requirements.

You only need one licence, even if you export:

different types of regulated waste material
your waste to different countries.

Licences are granted for up to 3 years.

Find out about fees and charges.

What we assess

In assessing your licence application, matters we consider for each type of regulated waste material include:

if your waste needs to meet a specification, whether the specification/s you nominate is appropriate for the intended use of the material in the importing country
if your waste needs to be processed before export, your ability to process or have someone process the material to the specification/s you nominate
if you export tyres for retread or re-use, whether the tyres, retread facility or re-use facility, are appropriate
commercial arrangements with importers or your ability to enter into commercial arrangements
the outcome of the fit and proper person check, including whether the potential licence holder is likely to comply with the conditions of the licence
any other relevant matter.

In assessing licence applications for plastics, we also consider whether:

the applicant has applied for, is the holder of, or has been refused, a hazardous waste export permit
a condition of a hazardous waste export permit held at any time by the applicant has been, or is being, breached
the applicant’s compliance history under the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020, including if the applicant has held an export licence that has been revoked.

Before you apply

Before you apply for a licence, make sure you read and understand how waste export regulations affects your waste:

You also need to:

consider whether you can meet our fit and proper person check
make sure you can provide appropriate evidence with your application
check whether your exports need to meet hazardous waste requirements.

How to apply

We may take time to process your application.

Prepare early and make sure you provide all information and documents we ask for. We cannot start to assess your application until we have them.

Gather your information and documents

You must provide enough information and documents for us to decide whether to grant you a licence.

Find out the documents you must provide.

Submit an application

Complete and submit your application through our Waste Export Licencing and Declaration (WELD) portal. Before you can apply, you will need to register to use the portal.

Note: The person who registers in the WELD portal is seen as the person who applies for the licence and completes the applicant declaration. Please make sure this person is authorised by your organisation to register and to submit a licence application.

Plastic exporters

In your application, only answer ‘Yes’ to “Sorted into single resin or polymer type and processed for further use” if you can prove your plastic is processed for further use, for example, into pellets or flakes, before export.

Tyre exporters

In your application, at the question regarding intended use, if you export:

tyres for re-use on another vehicle, state that your tyres are intended for “re-use as a tyre on a vehicle”
tyres for retread, state that your “tyres are intended for retreading”.

We will be able to process your application quicker if you submit:

a complete application with all supporting documents
documents that are legible and have a descriptive name.

We consider applications that don’t include required information or documents as incomplete. If this happens, we will request the information from you. You will need to provide this information before we start assessing your application.

Log into the Waste Export Licensing and Declaration portal

If you provide false or misleading information, you may be subject to a civil penalty or a criminal offence. Find out more about how to comply.

After you apply

Correct your application

Let us know, as soon as possible, if any information or documents in your application are incomplete or incorrect. You can email exportwaste@awe.gov.au.

You cannot make changes to an application through the WELD portal.

Provide further information

We may contact you for additional information or documents. Please respond to these requests within 30 days.

We will notify you of the outcome of your licence application

We will email you when we have made a decision on your application. You will then need to log into the WELD portal to read the details of the decision.

If we refuse your application, we will let you know why we refused it. If you do not agree with the decision, you can ask for it to be reviewed.

When you have a licence

Licence information published

We publish the following information on our website about the export licences we grant:

the name of the licence holder
the type of waste covered by the licence
when the licence takes effect
when the licence expires.

Manage your licence

There are things you must do when you have a licence. Find out in Change or manage a waste export licence.