The subordinate legislation – the Environment Protection Regulations and Environment Reference Standard – was made by the Governor in Council and came into effect on 1 July 2021 with the Act.
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 (the Act), some activities that previously didn’t require a permission, now do. An example of this is dry cleaning. This is now a low to moderate risk activity that must have a registration to legally operate.
Before applying for a registration, you must fully understand your activity’s possible risks and how you’ll manage these. This helps you comply with your obligation to meet your general environmental duty. This also helps to build a state of knowledge for the activity that the registration applies to.
There are registrations for various activities including waste, dry cleaning and glassworks. To find out more, see Types of registrations.
When you need a registration
If the Regulations set out that a registration is required for your activity, you must have one to legally operate. If you don’t have a valid registration and continue to operate, you will be penalised.
Some examples of activities that need a registration include:
- using and/or storing 5m3 or more of waste tyres for the purpose of silage production
- dry cleaning – involving the cleaning of garments using a chemical solvent other than water for commercial purposes
- organic waste processing - small scale operations
- temporary storage – designated waste or biomedical waste
- waste and resource recovery – small
- glass works – small reprocessing glass waste (less than, or equal to 10,000 tonnes a year).
The legal basis of registrations is in section 85 of the Act.
Some permits become registrations
Some existing permits have immediately become a registration under the Act.
How to apply
You can apply for a registration online.
For more application support, see How to apply for a registration.
Assessment process
If your online application meets our requirements your registration will be approved and issued immediately. Your new registration will contain conditions you must comply with.
Renewals
It’s important to ensure your registration remains valid while you operate your activity. Registrations may be valid for up to five years. You can renew your registration, if it hasn’t expired. If it has expired, you will need to reapply.
You will be able to renew your registration online (currently under development).
Compliance
As a permission holder, we expect you to know your legal obligations, operational risks and have adequate controls in place to manage your risks. We’ll monitor your compliance with the conditions of your registration. We will enforce non-compliance with the Act, or a condition of a permission.
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Reviewed 31 March 2023
