Local government waste plans

The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 (Waste Strategy) includes a headline strategy to "implement local government waste plans, which align local government waste planning processes with the Waste Strategy".

Consistent with the Waste Strategy, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (the department) has exercised their powers under section 40(4) of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 (WARR Act), by written notice (CEO notice), to require certain local governments and regional councils to include a waste plan within their plan for the future.

All local governments and regional councils in the Perth and Peel regions and major regional centres (cities of Albany, Busselton, Bunbury, Greater Geraldton and Kalgoorlie-Boulder; and Bunbury-Harvey Regional Council) that provide waste services are required to prepare a waste plan outlining how waste services will be managed to achieve consistency with the Waste Strategy and protect public health and the environment.

CEO notices

Two CEO notices have been issued to the relevant local governments and regional councils:

• The first notice, issued in November 2019, set out the requirements and timelines for waste plans and the CEO’s powers in relation to these.
• The second notice, issued in May 2020, revised the key deadlines for waste plans (see ‘Key dates’ section).

Annual reporting

The relevant local governments and regional councils are required to report on the implementation of their waste plan annually.

The first reports on the implementation of actions in waste plans during the 2021-22 financial year are due to DWER by 1 October 2022. Annual reports will be due on 1 October each year thereafter.

Annual reports must be submitted via Waste Data Online. Further guidance is available (see below) on how to use Waste Data Online to complete and submit annual waste plan reports.

Key dates

• 31 March 2021 – Final waste plans to be submitted to the CEO of the department.
• 1 October 2022 – First annual report, on the implementation of waste plans for the 2021–22 financial year, is due.
• Annual reports due on 1 October each year thereafter.

To ensure consistency with the Waste Strategy, reviews of waste plans will take place following the review and release of the strategy approximately every five years.

Guidance

The department has prepared the following resources to assist with the development of and reporting on waste plans:

• Guidance document – local government waste plans
• Frequently asked questions

Quick guides to assist with waste plan annual reporting:

• Quick guide – First-time users following registration
• Quick guide – Waste Data Online landing pages
• Quick guide – Waste Data Online user roles and report status
• Quick guide – Local government waste plan annual reporting
• A webinar to assist with waste plan reporting: Waste Data Online – Waste plan reporting training (delivered 9 September 2022)

Consultation

The department concluded a 12-week consultation period on the waste plans resource kit (consisting of a guidance document, templates and a self-assessment checklist) in September 2019. The purpose of the consultation was to seek input on how these resources might be improved to better assist local governments and regional councils in preparing their waste plans and annual reports.

The response to feedback is included in the following documents:

• For feedback received in workshops and webinars: Local government waste plans – Consultation sessions outcomes report
• For feedback received via written submissions: Consultation summary report: written submissions – Local government waste plans resource kit

Further assistance

Please email any queries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 08 6364 7000.