Household Waste Payment Scheme

Welcome to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovations' (the department) online grant application service for the Household Waste Payment Scheme.

In 2019 the Queensland Government released the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy which is underpinned by the waste levy.

The waste disposal levy was introduced on 1 July 2019, along with a commitment that the levy will have no direct impact on Queensland households.

To ensure this, payments have been made to councils to offset the cost of household waste going to landfill. 

The small proportion of Queensland households not covered by council payments can apply for assistance under the Household Waste Payment Scheme (Scheme) if they are:

1.  Households with a commercial private waste collection
2.  Households with a commercial council waste collection, located at a premises that has a mix of residential and commercial uses (e.g. block of flats with shops at the bottom). 

Proprietors are required to apply on behalf of eligible households under their proprietorship. 

As the levy only applies to waste sent to landfill, applications can only be made for domestic waste collections, not recycling collections.

Please read through the Scheme Guidelines to confirm your eligibility and collect the necessary documentation before proceeding with your application. 

For the purpose of this scheme, a household is defined as one or more individuals who occupy residential premises as a usual place of residence for a period of six months or more. 

An eligible household is only able to receive one payment per financial year under the scheme. 

More information on the payments made to councils.

If you have a concern about waste changes reflected on your rates notice, please contact your local council. 

PROGRAM QUESTIONS

For enquiries about the Household Waste Payment Scheme contact the Grants Administration Team via phone (07) 3330 6360 or email at: grantsadministration@des.qld.gov.au. 

You are strongly encouraged to save your application form every five to 10 minutes to reduce the risk of loss of information. 

SMARTYGRANTS QUESTIONS

If a technical error occurs, staff at SmartyGrants are available to help you. Contact them on (03) 9320 6888 during business hours or email service@smartygrants.com.au and quote your application number. 

Help is available to guide you through using this form - please download the Help Guide for Applicants.

FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION FORM

On the left hand side of every screen, there is a box which links directly to every page of the application form. Click the link to move directly to the page you want. You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application form. 

SAVING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION FORM

If you want to leave a partially completed application, press 'save' and log out. When you log back in and click the 'My Applications' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of applications you have started or submitted. 

You can re-open your draft application and continue where you left off. 

DOWNLOAD DRAFT APPLICATION

You can also download any application, whether in draft form or submitted, as a PDF file. Click on the 'Download' button at the bottom of the application navigation panel. 

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

You will find a 'Review' button at the bottom of the navigation panel. You need to review your application before you submit it. Ensure that all fields and mandatory questions marked with an asterisk '*' are completed. 

Once you have reviewed your application, you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top of the screen or on the navigation panel.

IMPORTANT: Any question marked with an asterisk ('*') is mandatory. Failure to answer any of these questions will stop you from being able to complete and submit your application form.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of supporting documents is possible.

When you submit your application form, you will receive an automated confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email address that you used to register with SmartyGrants.

If you do not receive a 'confirmation of submission' email, then your application has not been received. Review the error message highlighted in red and ensure that all mandatory fields have been completed. You should then be able to successfully submit your application. 

ATTACHMENTS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

You will need to upload attachments to support your application. This is simple but will require you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a USB stick, or similar.

You will need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however files up to a maximum of 5MB are recommended - the larger the file, the longer it takes to attach.

Remember - some requested document fields are mandatory. Failure to attach them will stop you from being able to successfully submit your application form.

If you are not able to attach a document, please contact SmartyGrants on (03) 9320 6888 for technical support.

COMPLETING AN APPLICATION IN A GROUP OR TEAM

A number of people can work on an application form using the same login details, as long as only one person is working on the application form at a time. Ensure that you save as you go.

SPELL CHECK

Most internet browsers (including Firefox v2.0 and above, Safari, and Google Chrome) have spell check functions built in. You can switch this function on or off by adjusting your browser settings.

IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you submit your application once completed.  Any unsubmitted applications will not be considered for assessment.

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (department) is collecting information via the application form for the scheme, for the purposes of assessing an applicant’s application for funding, notifying applicants if their application was successful or unsuccessful, making payments to successful applicants and to assist with scheme management.

The information collected and stored by the department via the scheme application form includes, but is not limited to:

• Personal information of the applicant
• Other information relevant to assess eligibility under the scheme (e.g. household address, evidence of household being occupied, and evidence of expense(s) incurred for waste disposal)

The State may disclose information, including confidential information, of or provided by an applicant:

• to any government agency or authority and its representatives and advisors, for the purpose of assessing and verifying such information.
• to the Queensland Minister for Environment, Science and Innovation, for reporting purposes.
• to comply with or meet applicable standards of accountability of public money or established government policies, procedures or protocol.
• if required to be disclosed by law.

The personal information will otherwise not be used or disclosed unless authorised or required by law or with consent. Personal information will be handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009. If you have any privacy questions or concerns, please email: privacy@des.qld.gov.au. 

The scheme application and associated documentation is subject to the Right to Information Act 2009. If you wish to access your personal information that is under the control of the department, you may email rtiservices@des.qld.gov.

For enquiries about the Household Waste Payment Scheme contact the Grants Administration Team via phone (07) 3330 6360 or email at: grantsadministration@des.qld.gov.au.

• A proprietor is an entity that owns or manages a household that is affected by the waste disposal levy for the domestic waste service. Examples include a strata manager managing a block of units or a landlord owning and managing a property.
• An individual applicant is part of a household. If a separate entity owns or operates a premises where a household is located, the proprietor of that premises must lodge the application. There are few circumstances under which an individual can make an application, such as a household with a private commercial waste collection service (Class 3).