Charitable Recycling Australia would like to thank the Victorian Government for confirming it will provide ongoing waste levy relief for the charitable reuse sector. In her letter of 22 May 2023 Environment Minister Stitt advised this will take the form of a statutory model, either as a waste levy exemption or rebate – in consultation with our sector – and will replace the current waste levy relief model to deliver ongoing certainty with regard to waste management costs.
The Minister’s office has also confirmed that the current Landfill Levy Relief Program will continue in its present form until and/or if it will be replaced by an exemption/waiver model that provides 100% protection for reuse charities.
In the meantime, the next claim dates for the Landfill Levy Relief Program are:
2023 – 2024
Charitable recycling organisations wishing to apply for inclusion in the program are encouraged to contact Charitable Recycling Australia directly for more information on the eligibility criteria and methodology for claiming relief.
2023 – 2024 Forms
Victorian Government Confirms Ongoing Levy Relief
Charitable Recycling Australia would like to thank the Victorian Government for confirming it will provide ongoing waste levy relief for the charitable reuse sector. In her letter of 22 May 2023 Environment Minister Stitt advised this will take the form of a statutory model, either as a waste levy exemption or rebate – in consultation with our sector – and will replace the current waste levy relief model to deliver ongoing certainty with regard to waste management costs.
We have had two meetings since then to provide support and guidance to the Victorian Government and DEECA based on our deep expertise working with the QLD, NSW, SA, WA and TAS Governments on all the exemption and rebate models available throughout Australia.
The Victorian Government has accepted our advice that their initial idea of implementing an exemption/waiver in the next few weeks by 1 July 2023 is impractical, and that it will require at least one to two years to ensure that councils, commercial landfill operators and waste contractors are fully consulted and will be ready and willing to take on the levy responsibility, and that effective systems and reporting is in place to provide certainty for any new exemption system that may be launched.
We have also counselled the Victorian Government that the exemption/waiver model cannot accommodate mixed waste, where charitable exempt waste is mixed with commercial waste in the same truck. Mixed waste represents around 72% of the total waste-to-landfill of Victorian charities, and if the Victorian Government decides on an exemption model, they will need an additional mechanism to fill this gap – otherwise charities would only be protected for 28% of their waste.
Queensland has successfully added a rebate model on top of their exemption, to fill the gap in their exemption and ensure mixed waste is included. The rebate model is currently the only way to guarantee 100% protection for charities, either as a solus scheme or as an add-on to an exemption. NSW is working with Charitable Recycling Australia on its Weight-Based Billing initiative as another option to fill the mixed waste gap, but there are challenges with transfer stations, which remain problematic and unable to accept any exemption/waivers in force. We have been collaboratively working through these with NSW EPA over the past year or so and continue to look for solutions together.
The WA, SA and TAS Governments currently have successful rebate models that provide effective protection for charities, without the need for any administration, reporting or tonnage capture from councils, commercial landfills or waste contractors.
Open Letter to Minister Stitt
Charitable Recycling Australia prides itself on its open, collaborative, collegiate and impact-focused relationships with the Commonwealth Government, and the State Governments of NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. All of these governments support the charitable reuse sector as a key driver of the transition to a Circular Economy, which in turn divert over a million tonnes away from landfill, save 880,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and raise $961 million for social good every year.
Distressingly, the Victorian Government wants to penalise charity shops with $1.5 million in unfair extra cost burdens, by removing the waste levy protections from 1 July 2023. Charitable Recycling Australia has provided evidence to show that the waste levy has a perverse effect on charity shops, and that taxing charity shops will cause an increase in landfill, not a reduction. It will also regress any transition to a Circular Economy by reducing reuse, which is a higher order intervention at the top of the Waste Hierarchy. Alternatively, if charities have to find the cost savings to pay the Victorian Government tax, it will mean Victorians in need will suffer. Their $1.5 million tax equates to 428,571 meals that cannot be provided by charities to Victorians who will go hungry, at a time when calls for help are increasing as more Victorians struggle with rent stress, electricity bills and rising costs of living.
Despite all this, DEECA (formerly DELWP) has not provided any evidence, justification or even information to justify their position, and following five years of patient representations, Charitable Recycling Australia has drafted an Open Letter to Ingrid Stitt, Minister for Environment, urging her to intervene to avert a catastrophe for charities, just like her predecessor Minister D’Ambrosio did in 2021 the last time DEECA tried to penalise charities.
Victorian Landfill Levy Relief Program 2020-23
The Victorian Government is providing financial relief through Charitable Recycling Australia, to charities impacted by illegal dumping.
The objectives of the Landfill Levy Relief Program are to:
Approved applicants for the Victorian Landfill Levy Relief Program, administered by Charitable Recycling Australia of behalf of the State of Victoria through the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning may complete and return the Claim Form to claim financial relief for the following quarters:
2020 – 2021
2021 – 2022
2022 – 2023
Charitable recycling organisations wishing to apply for inclusion in the program are encouraged to contact Charitable Recycling Australia directly for more information on the eligibility criteria and methodology for claiming relief.