How to surrender your licence or permit

You can apply to surrender a licence or permit when you have finished operating your prescribed activity.

We cannot finalise a licence or permit surrender until the prescribed activity has ceased. Therefore, if you are still operating an activity or need to meet a condition of a permission you shouldn’t make an application for surrender.

Apply to surrender a licence

You can apply to surrender a licence or permit through the EPA portal.

Use the following information to help you prepare your application to surrender a licence or permit.

How to surrender your licence

When you apply online to surrender your licence or permit, you’ll find a helpful navigation tool, ‘Steps’, in the left-hand of the screen. This provides a step-by-step map of the question topics, from start to finish. It also tracks your progress as you move through the application form by ticking off your completed sections.

Supplement your answers by attaching documents to the online form where necessary. This is important, as you must make sure we have enough information and evidence to assess your application. There’s an opportunity to attach documents on a dedicated page at the end of the application.

To start your licence or permit surrender application, select from the menu at the top of the screen or from the ‘Apply for a permission’ section on the page.

1. Application type

Once you’re in the online application, the first step is to select your application type. From the dropdown menu, select ‘Surrender’.

2. Permission details

Here, you need to provide details of the permission you want to surrender. Provide your:

Licence or permit number
current permission holder type, for example, individual, sole trader, a registered company, government or not-for-profit organisation
current licence or permit holder name
ABN or ACN, depending on permission holder type.

3. Surrender details

Answer the following questions:

Have you ceased operating the prescribed activity that is the subject of your permission?
• If yes, what date did you cease operating the prescribed activity?
Provide a summary of the completed decommissioning works, or what you still need to complete.
Does the condition of your permission require a decommissioning plan?
• If yes, have you supplied the authority with an updated detailed decommissioning plan for the activity site?
Have you been found in breach of compliance with the General Environment Duty?
• If yes, provide a summary of the breaches and any relevant information for consideration by the Authority
Have you been found in breach of compliance with a condition of your permission?
• If yes, provide a summary of the breaches and any relevant information for consideration by the Authority.

4. Supporting evidence

You need to attach any supporting evidence. In the field provided, give a summary of what you’re attaching including:

file titles
any document references.

Here, you need to declare:

the information you provided in the surrender application is the truth
you have the authority to submit the surrender application.

During the assessment of your application, we may require additional information. We will contact you if this is the case.

5. Application summary

You can review your complete application at this step. If you identify any changes required, use the back button to move back through the application steps.

Suggested results