The Queensland Government is developing a new waste management and resource recovery strategy. 

The changes being made include the introduction of a waste levy, commencing 1 July 2019.

The waste levy zone includes 39 out of 77 local government areas covering around 90 per cent of Queensland’s population.

The state government’s policy, to ensure that the waste levy will have no direct impact on households, is to provide an annual advance payment to local councils who dispose of household waste in the levy zone.

You can find further information on the waste disposal levy, including the levy rate per tonne, on the Queensland Government website:

www.qld.gov.au/environment/pollution/management/waste/recovery/disposal-levy.

We understand that a number of councils have received a letter from the Minister’s office confirming that they will be receiving an amount with respect to the 2019–20 financial year, to be paid to the councils in the 2018–19 financial year. 

QAO is looking into the nature of these payments and the associated accounting treatment, particularly the timing of revenue recognition under the current and future accounting standards. We will provide further advice to the 39 impacted councils shortly.