Keeping our city clean and safe is one of City of Melbourne’s biggest priorities. That’s why our Budget 25-26 includes changes aimed at making sure our commercial waste management system is modern, resilient and sustainable now and into the future.

We want to make sure we implement these changes – which include a new annual fee of $5,500 per truck that collects waste from businesses in the CBD – in a way that balances the needs of the community, ratepayers and the waste sector.

We currently have 60 private waste collection companies operating hundreds of trucks that collect waste from businesses in the CBD. The new waste collector’s permit fee aims to encourage more efficient operations and reduce the number of trucks on our roads. Revenue raised from these fees will help cover the rising costs of managing commercial waste and enforcing compliance.

The fee will also mean we can invest in the future of business waste management in the central city. As one of the only City of Melbourne permits without a fee attached, the introduction of fees for waste collector permits brings them in line with all other similar council permits.

Consultation closed 12 September.

Project overview

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Timeline

  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    Final Budget 2025-26 endorsed at Council meeting 

    30 June 2025

  • Timeline item 2 - complete

    Community consultation to inform waste collector permit fee implementation plan

    15 August to 12 September 2025

  • Timeline item 3 - incomplete

    Implementation plan considered at Council meeting

    25 November 2025

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