Plastics specifications and documents

You must provide enough relevant documents with your application for us to assess your application.

The documents you provide must support what you put in your application. 

If you don’t provide enough relevant documents, we will ask you for them. This may cause delays as we can only start to assess your application when we have them.

All documents you provide must be both:

If someone else sorts and/or processes your plastic waste

If someone else partly or fully sorts and/or processes the plastic waste before you buy and export it, you must provide all the following:

  • the specification they use to sort and/or process the plastic you export
  • evidence they can sort and/or process the plastic to that specification
  • evidence of your commercial relationship with them for supply of the plastic you export.

If you don’t have these documents, you need to get them from your supplier.

There is information about the documents your supplier could give you. Please ask your supplier to read this information and give you the relevant information.

You must also provide:

  • evidence of commercial arrangements with your importers and the intended use of the plastic overseas
  • identification documents
  • fit and proper person documents, if relevant.

If you sort and/or process the plastic waste yourself

If you sort and/or processes the plastic you export, you must provide:

  • the specification you use to sort and/or process the plastic you export
  • evidence that you can sort and/or process the plastic to the specification
  • evidence of commercial arrangements with your importers and the intended use of the plastic waste overseas
  • identification documents
  • fit and proper person documents, if relevant.

Specifications

Your waste plastic must be sorted and/or processed to a relevant specification before you export it. In your licence application, you nominate the specification/s your plastic is sorted and/or processed to. You must nominate a specification for each type of plastic you will export for the duration of your licence.

These specifications could be:

  • listed on our website (listed specifications) and/or
  • not listed on our website (unlisted specification), for example, your importer’s specification.

If you nominate an unlisted specification, you must provide it with your application.

If suitable, we may ask to publish your unlisted specification on our website as a listed specification. Other exporters of the plastic waste can then use it.

All specifications must include certain details.

Specification requirements – single resin or polymer plastics

All unlisted specifications must state:

  • the plastic polymer or resin type they are for. Examples include but are not limited to PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high density polyethylene)
  • packaging requirements
  • colour requirements
  • thresholds for contaminants and other types of waste.

Contaminants may include, but are not limited to:

  • other types of plastics
  • metals
  • glass
  • grease
  • organic matter such as dirt, mud, stones
  • paper or cardboard
  • moisture
  • other prohibited or hazardous materials.

We expect that the contamination thresholds to be low enough for the plastic to be almost free from contamination and other types of waste.

When we assess your licence application, we will check that the contamination levels are appropriate for the intended use of the plastic in the destination country.

Additional requirements for further processed plastic

If you further process the plastic, the unlisted specifications must state the physical form the plastic is processed into, for example, hot washed flakes or single resin pellets.

When we assess your licence application, we will check:

  • that the physical form is appropriate for the intended use of the plastic in the destination country and
  • whether the processed plastic is capable of remanufacture without further processing in the destination country.

Specification requirements – processed engineered fuel

All unlisted specifications must also specify:

  • any calorific value
  • the percentage of mixed plastic content
  • thresholds for contaminants and moisture
  • any packaging requirements
  • any particle size or bulk density
  • any testing or sampling.

We may also ask you to show that your processed engineered fuel is not hazardous.

When we assess your licence application, we will check that the contamination levels are appropriate for the intended use of the plastic in the destination country.

Listed plastics specifications

Listed specifications meet the objects of the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 and the Recycling and Waste Reduction (Export – Waste Plastic) Rules 2021. Waste processed to listed specifications is likely to be almost free from contamination and other types of waste and be ready for recycling or re-use in a way that reduces harmful impacts to human and environmental health.

If you are using a listed specification, you only need to demonstrate that you or your supplier can process the plastic to the listed specification.

Note: You cannot export bales of single polymer or resin plastics from 1 July 2022. This means you cannot use specifications for these plastics from this date.

Listed specifications are:

HDPE

LDPE

PE

PET

PP

PS

Evidence of sorting and/or processing capability

For every specification you nominate in your application, you must prove that you can sort and or/process your plastic waste to it. To do this, you could provide:

  • an independent technical analysis (such as one undertaken by a laboratory accredited by NATA for the testing required) or an internal audit report confirming the processed plastic meets the specification
  • business processes that show how the plastic will be processed to the specification. For example, information about the process, machinery and equipment, photographs and flowcharts
  • purchase records, clear photos, and technical specifications (that show make, model and purpose) of the equipment or machinery and how it is used to sort and/or process the plastic to the specification.

This evidence might show:

  • an optical sorter that sorts different polymers and different categories of polymers, for example clear and coloured PET or HDPE
  • trommels and star screens, air knifes, magnetic and eddy separators, and other equipment that removes contaminants such as paper, glass, aluminium, and organics
  • a granulator that can flake plastic to a specified size
  • a pelletiser that cuts polymer strands into pellets
  • an extrusion and pelletising machine that cuts, mixes, heats, dries and pre-compacts before degassing, filtering and extruding into pellets
  • that differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test results confirm the type and purity of the polymer.

Find a business to sort and/or process waste plastic

To find a business to sort and/or process your plastic waste, have a look at our plastics processing facilities web page.

You can also find out if a business that sorts and/or processes your waste has a current waste export licence.

Evidence of commercial arrangements with your importer

You must provide evidence of the following:

  • that you have a commercial arrangement or are in the process of securing a commercial arrangement with every importer of your plastic waste. The evidence should include the name of the specification you process the plastic to.
  • how the plastic will be used in the importing country. The intended use must align with the relevant specification.

To do this, you could provide:

  • signed and/or stamped existing or previous contracts with importers of the same type of plastic waste
  • proposed contract with the importer/s
  • records of exports to existing or previous importers of the same type of plastic waste in the same country
  • correspondence with the importer/s confirming their intent to enter into a contract with you, for example, an official email
  • a declaration that you are in the process of entering into a commercial relationship
  • letters from importers, or purchase orders, bills of lading, quotes or invoices that state how the processed plastic will be used.

If these documents don’t show how the plastic waste will be used in the importing country, you could provide a statement, website address, photos or process flow that shows how it will be used. If your importer is a trader, we will need information on how the waste will be used by on-buyers.

Provide the most recent evidence you have.

Note: If you show that you are in the process of securing a commercial arrangement, we may ask you to prove that you have secured this arrangement before you export.

In your application, you select the countries you export or will export to. Select only the countries you can prove you have, or are in the process of securing, a commercial relationship with.

Identification documents

Provide identification documents of the person completing the application as proof of their identity. The person who registers in the WELD portal should be person who completes the application.

Documents not in English must be accompanied by an official translation of the document from a National Accreditation Authority for Translators & Interpreters (NAATI) accredited provider.

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You must provide at least:

  • one primary identification document and
  • one secondary identification document.

The documents must add up to at least 100 points.

Primary identification documents (70 points)

  • Full birth certificate
  • Citizenship certificate
  • Current passport (Australian or another country)
  • Expired passport (not cancelled), which was current in the last two years (Australian or another country)
  • Other document that has the same characteristics as a passport such as diplomatic documents and some documents issued to refugees.

Secondary identification – must include name and photograph (40 points)

  • Driver licence issued by an Australian state or territory
  • Licence issued under a Commonwealth, state or territory law, (e.g. a boat licence)
  • Identification card issued to a public employee
  • Identification card issued by the Commonwealth or a state or territory government as evidence of the person’s entitlement to a financial benefit
  • Identification card issued to a student at a tertiary education institution.

Secondary identification – must include name and signature (35 points)

  • A document held by a cash dealer giving security over your property
  • A mortgage or other instrument of security held by a financial body
  • Council rates notice
  • Document from your current employer or previous employer within the last 2 years
  • Land Titles Office record
  • Document from the Credit Reference Association of Australia.

Secondary identification – must include name and signature (25 points)

  • Marriage certificate (must include maiden name)
  • Credit card
  • Foreign driver’s licence
  • Medicare card (signature not required)
  • Membership to a registered club
  • Membership to a motoring organisation (e.g. NRMA, RACQ)
  • EFTPOS card.

Secondary identification – must include name and address (25 points)

  • Electoral roll complied by the Australian Electoral Commission and available for public scrutiny
  • Records of a public utility (phone, water, gas or electricity bill)
  • Records of a financial institution
  • A record held under a law other than a law relating to land titles
  • Lease or rental agreement
  • Rent receipt from a licensed real estate agent.

Secondary identification – must include name and date of birth (25 points)

  • Record of primary, secondary or tertiary educational institution attended by you within the last 10 years
  • Record of professional or trade association of which you are a member.

Fit and proper person documents

We ask a number of questions about being a fit and proper person in your licence application. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of them, you must:

  • detail the reason for your response in the application
  • provide documents such as bank statements or other documents about the issue that may help your application.

A 'yes' answer does not necessarily mean you will fail the check.

Contact us

If you’re not sure what documents to provide:

  • phone us on 1800 852 974