Regulation summaries

This page contains summaries of regulations administered by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Under each regulation name there are also links to the full text of the regulation (from the NSW legislation website) and, where available, further information relevant to the operation of the regulation.

Contaminated Land Management Regulation 2013

Full text | More about contaminated land

This Regulation:

  • provides for the recovery of administrative costs by the EPA in connection with orders and proposals made under the Act
  • provides for the accreditation of site auditors
  • prescribes certain offences as penalty notice offences and prescribes penalty notice amounts

Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Regulation 2022

Full Text | More about transporting dangerous goods

This Regulation:

  • makes changes to clarify and strengthen safety, maintenance and incident reporting requirements
  • clarifies the powers of the EPA and Safe Work NSW to make determinations related to the transport of dangerous goods by road or rail
  • prescribes certain offences as penalty notice offences and prescribes penalty notice amounts
  • prescribes minor increases to licence and other fees and provides for adjustment of fees for inflation in accordance with the NSW Consumer Price Index from 2023–24
  • makes machinery and minor changes to formatting and language

Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Regulation 2017

Full text | More about chemicals

This Regulation:

  • sets various fees in relation to assessments of technology and prescribed activities by the EPA and in relation to licences to carry on prescribed activities
  • specifies the matters to be included in applications for assessment of prescribed activities, in EPA notices about assessments of chemicals, and in EPA notices about applications for licences and transfers of licences
  • provides for the appointment of alternate members of the Hazardous Chemicals Advisory Committee
  • provides for the time within which certain appeals under the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act 1985 may be made
  • prescribes the information to be included in registers under the Act

Pesticides Regulation 2017

Full text | More about pesticides

This Regulation:

  • requires users of pesticides for commercial and occupational purposes, or in connection with agricultural, farming or forestry operations, to make and keep records of pesticide use and be trained to particular levels of competency in pesticide use
  • requires certain pesticide users to give notice of pesticide use
  • defines what classes of users require a licence under the Act
  • sets the fees for licences, and the particulars to be included with the application for such licences
  • prescribes the qualifications required to obtain a licence
  • prescribes certain substances as restricted substances and prescribed produce for the purposes of the Pesticides Act 1999 in relation to agricultural produce
  • prescribes certain offences as penalty notice offences and prescribes penalty notice amounts

Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022

Full text | More about air | More about the Clean Air Regulation

This Regulation

  • provides for the certification of domestic solid fuel heaters
  • controls burning generally by imposing an obligation to prevent or minimise emissions, by prohibiting the burning of certain articles and requiring approval for certain fires/incinerators
  • requires the fitting of anti-pollution devices to certain motor vehicles and prescribes an offence of emitting excessive air impurities
  • imposes certain requirements and standards on the supply of petrol
  • prescribes standards for certain groups of plant and premises to regulate industry’s air impurity emissions
  • imposes requirements on the control, storage and transport of volatile organic liquids

Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2022

Full text | More about licensing

This Regulation:

  • provides for the administration of environment protection licences
  • establishes the method of calculating licence application fees, licence administrative fees, as well as load based licence fees, and environmental protection notice fees
  • establishes the Load Based Licensing Technical Review Panel
  • prescribes certain matters for the purposes of the definition of water pollution
  • gives effect to and requires compliance with the National Environment Protection (National Pollutant Inventory) Measure made under the National Environment Protection Council Act 1994 (Cth)
  • creates the Upper Hunter Air Quality Monitoring Network
  • prescribes requirements in respect of pollution incident response management plans
  • prescribes the appropriate regulatory authority for certain activities
  • creates exemptions from certain provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
  • sets restrictions on the use of PFAS firefighting foam
  • prescribes certain offences as penalty notice offences and prescribes penalty notice amounts

Protection of the Environment Operations (Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme) Regulation 2002

Full text | More about emissions trading

This Regulation:

  • formally establishes a tradeable emission scheme to manage discharges of saline water in the Hunter River catchment
  • gives effect to the scheme through a credit trading system to regulate the timing and quantity of the discharges
  • establishes detailed rules to facilitate the functioning of the scheme

The Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme is based on a pilot scheme conducted since 1995.

Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2017

Full text | More about noise

This Regulation:

  • provides for the use of various motor vehicle and motor vehicle accessories devices such as horns and alarms
  • sets prescribed limits for motor vehicles
  • regulates noise emitted from the use of marine vessels
  • sets time limits for the use of certain articles on residential property including gardening equipment, air conditioners, tools and pumps, where the noise caused can be heard in a habitable room of another residence
  • prohibits the selling of certain articles that emit noise above prescribed levels, such as lawn mowers, edge cutters, string trimmers and brush cutters
  • requires labelling of certain other noise emitting articles such as chainsaws, air compressors, pavement breakers, garbage compactors
  • provides for the inspection and testing of certain articles

For more information see updates to the Protection of the Environment Operations Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Regulation 2023 on 17 February 2023. 

Protection of the Environment Operations (Underground Petroleum Storage Systems) Regulation 2019

Full text | More about underground petroleum storage systems

This Regulation:

  • provides for the commissioning and decommissioning of underground storage systems
  • requires the use of secondary leak detection
  • regulates the use of underground petroleum storage systems
  • prescribes certain records to be kept
  • allows the EPA to issue, guidelines for the purposes of the Regulation

The EPA is the appropriate regulatory authority for all matters under this Regulation until 31 August 2019 after which it will be the relevant local authority.

Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014

Full text | More about waste

This Regulation:

  • provides for the contributions to be paid by the occupiers of scheduled waste facilities for each tonne of waste received at the facility or generated in a particular area
  • exempts certain occupiers or types of waste from these contributions
  • allows rebates to be claimed in relation to certain types of waste
  • provides for certain reporting and record-keeping requirements in relation to scheduled waste facilities and scheduled landfill sites
  • exempts certain waste streams from the full waste tracking and recordkeeping requirements
  • makes requirements relating to the transport of waste to interstate destinations
  • makes special requirements including reporting requirements relating to asbestos waste as well as prohibiting the re-use and recycling of asbestos waste
  • imposes requirements on brand owners and retailers to recover, re-use and recycle packaging
  • allows the EPA to issue exemptions from certain provisions of the Act and Regulations
  • allows the EPA to approve the immobilisation of contaminants in waste
  • makes it an offence to apply, or to cause or permit the application of, residue waste to land that is used for the purpose of growing vegetation, subject to any exemptions

Protection from Harmful Radiation Regulation 2013

Full text | More about radiation

This Regulation, formerly known as the Radiation Control Regulation 2013:

  • prescribes certain matters in relation to the definitions of radioactive ore, radioactive substance and security enhanced source
  • sets fees in relation to radiation licences, accreditations and approvals (including variations and renewals)
  • prescribes exemptions to licensing and accreditation requirements for certain substances, apparatus, devices and persons
  • prescribes requirements with respect to security plans, security measures and identity checking
  • provides for radiation safety and public health in respect of radiation in the workplace, monitoring, exposure as a result of research, disposal and transport and accidents
  • requires the notification of radiation accidents, and the loss or theft of regulated material
  • prohibits the provision of commercial cosmetic tanning services from 31 December 2014
  • prescribes certain offences as penalty notice offences and prescribes penalty notice amounts

Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Regulation 2017

Full text | More about Waste and Resource Recovery | More about Container Deposit Scheme

This Regulation provides for the matters to support the implementation and operation of the container deposit scheme established under Part 5 of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001, including:

  • the beverages and containers that are excluded from the operation of the scheme
  • the refund amount payable for containers
  • the classes of persons defined as material recovery facility operators
  • fees for applications and approvals under the Act
  • claims for refund amounts for containers processed by material recovery facility operators
  • the approval of collection point arrangements
  • container approvals
  • matters that the Minister may consider in determining whether an applicant for a Scheme administration agreement is a fit and proper person
  • matters required to be included in reports prepared by the Scheme Coordinator; and
  • performance targets to be included in a network operator agreement

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