Providers of waste, recycling or resource recovery services can follow the steps below to verify their responsible entity status, as described under the:
- Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 (CE Act)
- Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) (Risk, Consequence and Contingency Plans and Other Matters) Regulations 2023 (CE RCCP).
How to determine if you are a responsible entity
Use steps 1 and 2 to confirm your status and any required actions.
Step 1 – Determining essential service provision
Service providers should assess if their business provides one or more of the 15 essential waste, recycling or resource recovery services.
This list is defined in regulation 5 and Schedule 1 of the CE RCCP Regulations and detailed in Table AP1: Essential service providers for the Victorian waste, recycling and resource recovery sector on page 34 of the Circular Economy Risk, Consequence and Contingency (CERCC) Plan 2026-2028.
All essential waste, recycling or resource recovery service providers are required to implement Section 74 responsibilities of the CE Act which requires those providers to minimise the risk of serious failure, disruption or hindrance of the service, as far as reasonably practicable. This is referred to as the duty on providers.
Step 2 – Determining if you are a responsible entity
If you provide one or more essential service, you must assess whether you meet the criteria to identify as a responsible entity.
A responsible entity is an essential waste, recycling and resource recovery service provider that meets any of the following criteria:
- Holds 20 per cent or more of the Victorian market share for that service or that service for a type of waste.
- Holds one or more government contracts under which it delivers that service, with a total combined value of over $50 million over the life of the contracts (excluding options to extend).
- Provides services under ongoing arrangements (a period of at least 12 months) or at regular intervals (at least once every 2 months) in 5 or more declared regions in Victoria.
Victorian market share
To determine your share of the Victorian market, see Table AP2: Total amount of waste managed in Victoria for each essential waste, recycling or resource recovery service for the specified period on page 39 of the CERCC Plan 2026-2028.
Declared regions of Victoria
Notification process
You must review your circumstances regularly, particularly when contracts change or service offerings are adjusted. Each edition of the CERCC Plan updates the total amount of waste managed in Victoria across different services. You must use these total amounts to assess your market share for the relevant reporting period.
If you determine that you are a responsible entity, you must notify us within 60 calendar days. To do this, complete the notification form below and submit it to responsible.entity@epa.vic.gov.au.
If you determine that you are no longer a responsible entity, you must notify us within 60 calendar days of the change. Complete the notification form below and submit it to responsible.entity@epa.vic.gov.au, indicating that you are ceasing to be a responsible entity.
You do not need to notify us if:
- you have previously notified as a responsible entity and your status has not changed
- you are not a responsible entity and your status has not changed.
Responsible entity notification form
Information privacy and security
Information provided by responsible entities will be stored and managed in accordance with the Victorian Government guidelines for information and asset security.
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