Tool · Queensland waste levy
What the levy actually costs, anywhere in Queensland.
The rate is set by where the waste is generated, not where it goes. Trucking spoil out of the metro zone does not buy the regional rate.
GST is not applied when a landfill operator pays the levy to the State. It is applied when the operator charges you a fee to cover its liability, so an invoice will read higher than the figure above.
Why the zone matters more than the distance
Two projects moving identical spoil can carry a levy bill $35 a tonne apart, and the difference has nothing to do with how far the trucks drive. It is decided by which levy zone the waste came out of.
The rule catches people out in one direction in particular. Spoil generated on a Brisbane, Logan or Ipswich site attracts the metro rate even if it is hauled to a regional landfill, and even if it leaves the levy zone altogether. Hauling further costs more in fuel and time and saves nothing on the levy.
It works the other way too. Waste generated in the regional zone keeps the regional rate when it goes to a regional or non-levy site, but attracts the metro rate the moment it is disposed of in the metro zone.
The schedule, to 2029-30
Metro and regional are on different trajectories, which is the part most quotes get wrong. Metro is a flat $10 a tonne rise every year. Regional is indexed, currently at 3.4 per cent, so applying the metro trajectory to a regional job overstates it.
| Levy area | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro (Level 1) | $125 | $135 | $145 | $155 | $165 |
| Regional (Level 2) | $97 | $100 | $103 | $106 | GIR |
| Regulated Cat 1, metro | $205 | $215 | $225 | $235 | $245 |
| Regulated Cat 2, metro | $155 | $165 | $175 | $185 | $195 |
Classification decides whether you pay at all
The levy applies to what goes to landfill. Material reused on site is not disposed of, so it carries no levy, which makes classification under TMR MRTS04 Section 11 the lever with the most money attached.
Type 1 — select fill
Structural quality, durable, well graded. No levy where it is reused on site.
Type 2 — general fill
Embankments and landscaping. Low exposure where it is segregated and kept clean.
Type 3 — marginal
Plastic or dispersive soils. Needs treatment or paid disposal. Where budgets slip.
Type 4 — spoil and contaminated
Non-conforming or hazardous. Full rate applies, and cross-contaminating clean fill with it converts free material into levied waste.
Where the levy meets your tender score
Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 scores local benefit as a purposeful procurement outcome under Rule 20, weighted between 10 and 20 per cent of the total evaluation. This replaced the former Local Benefits Test in January 2026, and the 125km threshold that test used is no longer the standard. Proximity still matters commercially, through haulage cost and emissions, but it is no longer a scoring boundary in its own right.
The Waste to Resource schedule (C7810.S12.TIC) requires tenderers to nominate recycled material percentages or justify not maximising diversion, which makes diversion a place where a waste strategy can earn score rather than just avoid cost.
Before the tender goes out
Find disposal and recycling capacity near a site
Earthmovers, recyclers and disposal facilities by suburb, from the licensed contractor register.
Browse the directory →Sources
- Waste disposal levy rates — Queensland Government, CC BY 4.0, last updated 2026-06-26
- Levy zone map — Queensland Government
- Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 — Queensland Legislation
- MRTS04 General Earthworks — Transport and Main Roads
- TN193 Waste to Resource — TMR Technical Notes
- Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 — replaced the Local Benefits Test, January 2026
- The constants this page reads — compiled, with source and retrieval dates
Rates are read from a dated source and recompiled when it changes. Figures are indicative and exclude GST. Verify with the relevant authority before pricing.