Reviews and amendments of environmental legislation

Amendments to the Environmental Protection (Clearing of Native Vegetation) Regulations 2004 were gazetted on Tuesday 3 December 2013 and took effect on Wednesday 4 December 2013.

The amendments followed several reviews of the clearing provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 1986, including that chaired by Associate Professor Garry Middle, which reported to the Minister for Environment in 2009; the Environmental Stakeholder Advisory Group 2010 review of approvals reform; and the native vegetation government working group review of 2011.

Increase in time

The time for owners and occupiers to maintain previously lawfully cleared areas for pasture, cultivation or forestry, without a clearing permit was increased from 10 to 20 years (regulation 5, item 14).

Increased limited clearing area

The total area allowed per financial year, per property, for prescribed limited clearing was increased from one hectare to five hectares.

Limited clearing means clearing to construct a building, clearing for firewood, clearing to provide fencing and farm materials, clearing for woodwork, clearing along a fenceline, clearing for vehicular tracks, clearing for walking tracks, and clearing isolated trees.

Reducing regulatory burden

These changes contributed towards reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on landowners and land managers, which prohibited their future growth and success, without compromising significant environmental values.

Amendments to the Environmental Protection (Controlled Waste) Regulations 2004 were gazetted on 1 August 2014 to improve the transparency and clarity of the Regulations, to increase their effectiveness in managing the controlled waste industry and to improve the environmental outcomes.

The amendments included new provisions to give industry the flexibility of choosing one, three and five-year licences and the ability to transfer a carrier licence and/or vehicle/tank licence when sold/assigned to another entity.

A range of support documents including fact sheets and application forms related to the Regulations have been developed.

Read more on the Controlled waste webpage.

The following amendments were made to the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987.

2018

Amendments to the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 were gazetted on 27 April 2018. The amendments ensured that the landfill licensing and levy regime does not apply to development sites that accept only clean fill or uncontaminated fill.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 27 April 2018 (PDF, 1.8 MB)

2016

Amendments to the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 were gazetted on 29 June 2016 and took effect on 1 July 2016. The amendments introduce fees for applications to amend works approvals and licences (see fees under the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987).

The Amendment Regulations also correct typographical errors, modernise language and delete obsolete references.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 29 June 2016 (PDF, 662 KB)

2015

Amendments to the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 were gazetted on 21 August 2015. The amendments ensured that the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 were not discriminatory and therefore unlawful under the 2013 amendments to the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 21 August 2015 (PDF, 2.4 MB)

Amendments to the Litter Regulations 1981 were gazetted on 7 August 2015.

The amendments ensured that certificates of appointment for authorised officers, which may be presented to the public, accurately reflect the powers of authorised officers and the source of their authority, and updated the language of the Litter Regulations to reflect contemporary drafting practices.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 7 August 2015 (PDF, 909 KB)

Section 99 of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 (WARR Act) requires that the Minister carry out a review of the WARR Act after the fifth anniversary of its commencement and table a report on the review in both houses of Parliament within 12 months of the fifth anniversary.

On 2 September 2020, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation released the Discussion paper: Review of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 for a twelve-week comment period, which closed on 25 November 2020. Seventeen submissions were received in response to the discussion paper.

The feedback received through this process was considered in the Report on the Review of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 which was tabled in Parliament on 27 October 2021.

Information on the first review of the WARR Act (2015)

On 1 December 2014, the then Department of Environment Regulation released a discussion paper for public consultation. The paper was available for comment until 23 February 2015. Thirty-three submissions were received in response to the discussion paper.

These submissions helped to inform the report on the first review which was tabled in Parliament on 21 October 2015.

The Strategic Waste Infrastructure Planning Working Group (SWIPWG) was established by the then Minister for Environment to provide advice to the Waste Authority on potential options to improve waste infrastructure planning in the Perth metropolitan and Peel regions of Western Australia.

The SWIPWG’s Investigation Report summarises the options considered by the SWIPWG and its findings on these. The report was considered as part of the first review of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007.

The following amendments were made to the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Levy Regulations 2008 (Levy Regulations).

Levy calculation

Amendments to the Levy Regulations took effect from 1 July 2016, and aimed to improve the accuracy of weight and volume estimations of waste received and disposed to landfill premises and enable more accurate calculation of the landfill levy.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette No. 102, 17 June 2016 (PDF, 933 KB)

Read more about waste levy calculation and recordkeeping.

Landfill levy increase amendments

The gazetted amendments implement set out increases to the landfill levy over a five year period. The increases to the levy are intended to have the effect of promoting resource recovery and discouraging the disposal of waste to landfill, which are objectives of the Western Australian Waste Strategy, published in March 2012.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 12 September 2014 (PDF, 1.7 MB)

Disposal of waste amendments

The gazetted amendments exempt the proper disposal of waste asbestos from the Levy Regulations. The amendments insert a new category of waste to be exempted which covers asbestos containing material which means "any manufactured material or thing that, as part of its design, contains asbestos". This category does not include waste materials with asbestos contamination, such as asbestos contaminated rubble, debris or soil.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 23 September 2014 (PDF, 610 KB)

The following amendments were made to the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Regulations 2008 (WARR Regulations).

Annual reporting of waste and recycling data

Amendments to the WARR Regulations were gazetted on 28 June 2019.

The amended regulations require liable persons to report waste and recycling data annually to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The CEO has gazetted the information required to be reported under regulation 18D, and the procedures to be followed in reporting that information.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette, 28 June 2019 (PDF, 936 KB)

Read more about annual waste data reporting.

Landfills – levy calculation

Amendments to the WARR Regulations took effect from 1 July 2016, and aimed to improve the accuracy of weight and volume estimations of waste received and disposed to landfill premises and enable more accurate calculation of the landfill levy.

View the notice in the WA Government Gazette No. 102, 17 June 2016 (PDF, 933 KB)

Read more about waste levy calculation and recordkeeping.