You can apply to amend or release financial assurances in certain circumstances. This includes when:
- there’s a change to the environmental conditions that the financial assurance calculation was based on
- the permit or licence is surrendered, or the site management order or environment action notice is revoked.
EPA will release all or part of a financial assurance if it’s:
- provided as a condition related to environmentally hazardous substances, that are no longer held by the person providing the financial assurance
- no longer required following a review of the financial assurance
- amended following a review of the financial assurance.
If a permit or licence is being transferred to another person, EPA won’t release the financial assurance until another is lodged.
If you need to provide financial assurance for another reason, EPA can transfer the financial assurance across. For example where a landfill operating licence is revoked and a site management order is issued for long-term environmental management.
To amend or release a financial assurance, complete the Application for amendment or release of financial assurance (publication F1002).
Reducing your amount of financial assurance
You can reduce the amount of financial assurance by minimising onsite risk. Operators of reportable priority waste management facilities can do this by:
- reducing the amount of waste permitted to be stored on site
- including licence sub-limits for wastes that are expensive or difficult to dispose of or treat
- deciding amounts of waste or containers that will have storage agreements and could be returned to the owners if required.
Landfill operators can reduce their financial assurance amount by progressive rehabilitation of the landfill.
Operators of waste and resource recovery facilities can also reduce their financial assurance by reducing stockpile volumes. This allows you to operate under a licence or permit with a smaller maximum stockpile volume. You can also reduce financial assurance by only receiving and processing non-combustible materials.
Read more about financial assurances
Financial assurance for permissions and contaminated land management (publication 2002)
Calculation of financial assurance for landfills, reportable priority waste (RPW) management and waste and resource recovery facilities (publication 2003)
Financial assurances and landfills
Financial assurances and waste and resource recovery facilities
Reviewed 16 March 2022
