Waste Odour in Ipswich
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Each waste site will have at least two sets of approvals.
Planning Approvals
The first is a land use approval which is issued by the Council. This is referred to as a Material Change of Use (MCU) approval. These approvals include conditions and refer to plans and technical information. Once issued, MCU approvals are in place indefinitely unless the landowner seeks to cancel them, or there are specific criteria requiring that the use cease.
These approvals include a range of conditions which Council regulates through various compliance mechanisms such as hours of operation, layout of the site, the standard of construction of internal and external infrastructure and some site operation matters which generally don’t relate to odour issues. Owing to the nature of these approvals, Council has limited powers to deal with the issues that are likely to be causing these odours. Environmental Approvals are the instrument to address issues of environmental harm and environmental nuisance.
The MCU approvals are assessed against the Ipswich Planning Scheme primarily, under the Planning Act 2016. For simplicity, we will refer to these as ‘Planning Approvals’.
Environmental Approvals
The second is an Environmental Authority (EA) which is issued by the Queensland Government’s Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI). Almost all waste operations constitute one or more Environmentally Relevant Activities (ERA). The site cannot operate without an Environmental Authority, which is often referred to as a license.
These approvals include conditions; however, the conditions relate to the way the site is operated and managed to address the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1994. This includes issues related to the protection of the environment from environmental harm and environmental nuisance.
These approvals are assessed and enforced pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and associated legislation. For simplicity, we will refer to these as ‘Environmental Approvals’. The DETSI regulates environmental activities which can generate odour and impact on surrounding communities. To report an issue contact the Pollution Hotline (24/7) 1300 130 372 (Option 3) or email PollutionHotline@detsi.qld.gov.au
Importantly, both approvals are required to effectively operate almost all waste facilities. Council is responsible for regulating Planning Approvals, and the DETSI is responsible for regulating Environmental Approvals.
The Queensland Government’s Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) is Queensland’s environmental regulator and is tasked with the investigation of nuisance odour complaints and taking enforcement action against non-compliant waste operators. You can view community reports - Community reports - qld.gov.au.
Council strongly encourages residents to continue to lodge their odour complaints with the Department via their website or on 1300 130 372 (Option 3).
Council will use the full power of Council’s policy and legal instruments to drive performance improvements of waste management operations within our communities.
Council has a range of enforcement tools available to enforce compliance with development approvals and conditions. These tools include Show Cause and Enforcement Notices, financial penalties (penalty infringement notices) or in some circumstances legal action through the Magistrates Court or Planning and Environment Court.
Owing to the nature of approvals noted in Question 1, Council has limited powers to deal with the issues that are likely to be causing waste odours. The Environmental Approvals which are regulated by DETSI are the primary instrument that can be used to address these odour issues.
Environmental Approvals are the instrument to address issues of environmental harm and environmental nuisance. The authority for actioning potential breaches of the Environmental Approvals is the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
However, Council continues to play a strong role in advocating to the State Government to take strong action against companies who are found to be non-compliant.
Back in May 2022, Council at its meeting endorsed Mayor Teresa Harding to send a letter to the former Minister for Health and Ambulance Services requesting a panel of inquiry into the waste odours in Ipswich. Following continued advocacy, the Swanbank Public Health Inquiry was announced and conducted in 2025 (refer to Question 8).
From a Council perspective, Council also approved the Resource Recovery Strategy and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan on 24 June 2021 with a view to improving waste management.These documents set out the City’s waste management and resource recovery strategy for the next 10-year period.
The strategy details a 4-pillar approach on how Council will deliver on the goals and objectives for improved waste management. The foundational four pillars of this strategy include:
- Expand the core collection service to include a Food Organic Garden Organics bin for all eligible Ipswich residents.
- Optimise the City’s co-mingled recycling service including re-introduction of glass as acceptable material within the yellow lid recycling bin.
- Provide a flexible ‘on demand’ large item kerbside collection service where valuable resources are recovered.
- Have fit-for-purpose waste and resource recovery infrastructure that meets the needs of a growing city
Working on these pillars will help Ipswich progress to a circular economy by reducing waste and valuing resources and ensure our strategies are based on legislative requirements and best practice resource recovery.
There is no stated minimum buffer in the current regulations. However, Council will actively discourage new waste industry developments in close proximity to residential areas where it is clear the development impacts will not be manageable onsite and will negatively detract from amenity. At the same time, Council will discourage residential encroachment in close proximity to areas designated for future industrial development. The overall outcome of the Ipswich City Plan 2025 Resource Recovery and Waste Activity Code is to permanently protect all residents, businesses, other occupiers and visitors of Ipswich (i.e. all persons and all premises) from all adverse impacts of waste activities.
Waste operators should be managing their sites to prevent odour release in accordance with their Environmental Approvals. This includes selecting feedstock, management practices and technologies to manage the site to prevent odour release.
Council is supportive of operators moving to better management of facilities, including a transition to enclosed facilities and the use of better technology and practices.
The current best practice approach to processing organic material into compost is in an enclosed facility. These practices are discussed in guidance material on these types of operations provided by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
Further information on the Composting regulation in Queensland | Environment | Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Queensland.
The transition to enclosed facilities requires a significant investment from operators that will produce better outcomes for residents and the environment.
It is important to recognise that, while certain waste operations may be contributing to odour concerns, many waste operators across the city play an essential role in delivering critical services to the community.
While the current situation is understandably frustrating, it is equally important to acknowledge that a number of waste and resource recovery operators manage their facilities responsibly, prioritising compliance with regulatory requirements and minimising impacts on the community.
Council strongly maintains that all operators must meet their obligations by complying with approvals and support the essential task of managing the waste generated by our community.
In May 2022, Council at its meeting endorsed Mayor Teresa Harding to send a letter to the former Minister for Health and Ambulance Services requesting a panel of inquiry into the waste odours in Ipswich.
Following continued advocacy by Council, on 9 January 2025, the Honourable Tim Nicholls, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, announced an inquiry into the odour issues at the Swanbank and New Chum industrial areas, following concerns raised by the community.
The Inquiry was conducted in accordance with Chapter 7 of the Public Health Act 2005 by a panel chaired by specialist physician and Queensland’s former Chief Health Officer, Dr John Gerrard. Dr Gerrard was joined on the Panel by Dr Lyn Denison, an expert in air quality as it relates to human health.
The Inquiry’s scope was to investigate the health effects of odour from the industrial areas and to recommend actions to lessen the impacts.
A final report from the Inquiry was released on 19 November 2025. It is available here .
All recommendations of the Inquiry were accepted by the Queensland Government to address odour management, regulations, improved air monitoring and future residential development. Addressing these concerns remains a top priority for the Government, and collaboration with local government, industry and the community is key to ensuring meaningful, transparent and timely action.
The Swanbank Inter-Departmental Steering Committee has also been established to provide additional oversight and ensure ongoing engagement with the community as actions are implemented.
All waste operators, except Ipswich Waste Services, are private businesses and Council has no legal authority or say over where they accept waste from. Ipswich Waste Services collects municipal waste, does not operate a landfill and holds no commercial contracts to accept interstate waste.
Household waste, commercial waste, liquid wastes and organic wastes are received by waste activities for disposal or recycling in the area. Certain types of waste are subject to the Queensland waste levy.
Once the approvals (as outlined in Question 1) have been issued and the operation of the site commences, there are limited circumstances where operators can be shut down. The primary legal mechanism for regulatory intervention is through the environmental approval and compliance provisions of the Environmental Approvals and range of compliance tools available in the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
In general terms, there has been a decrease in daily waste odour complaints as a result of improved compliance by the waste operators and regular monitoring. Information on the number of complaints received is available at Community reports - qld.gov.au.
DETSI continues to monitor air quality and weather at various locations in Queensland, with a specific program focusing on industrial areas at Swanbank and New Chum. Information on the air monitoring activities is available at Air monitoring - qld.gov.au.
Notwithstanding this monitoring , if you are experiencing odour that is causing you a nuisance, please report it to the Pollution Hotline (24/7) 1300 130 372 (Option 3) or email PollutionHotline@detsi.qld.gov.au
Should you also wish to receive updates from DETSI in relation to Swanbank and New Chum odour matters, you can subscribe using the following link.
Council understands that existing waste facilities can have impacts on nearby communities, particularly where historical operations have resulted in issues such as odour, noise and traffic.
Applications to change or upgrade these facilities provide an opportunity for council to assess whether improvements can be achieved. In many cases, proposals include newer technology, operational changes or upgraded infrastructure designed to improve environmental performance and reduce impacts on surrounding communities.
Each application is assessed on its individual planning merits and against the relevant planning framework. Approval is not automatic, and proposals must demonstrate that impacts can be appropriately managed. Where appropriate, Council may impose conditions requiring operational improvements and ongoing environmental management.
The objective is to ensure that activities located within designated industrial precincts continue to evolve and improve over time while protecting the amenity, health and wellbeing of the community.
Existing facilities often continue operating under the current approvals unless changes are proposed by the applicant, or the applicant chooses to cease operations. Applications to upgrade or modify existing facilities can provide an opportunity to improve environmental performance through newer technology, revised operating practices and updated approval conditions.
When assessing these applications, Council considers whether the proposal would result in a better overall outcome that the existing approved operation. This includes balancing community amenity, environmental protection, planning outcomes and the potential for measurable improvements over time.
The focus is not on maintaining the status quo, but on determining whether the proposed changes represent a genuine improvement for both the community and the environment.
All organics operators are in various stages of progression to enclosed facilities. There are requirements in various phases of compliance action (including separate compliance action by DETSI) and development approvals. In the event that all sites are not able to be improved with new facilities to enclose the process, DETSI have imposed restrictions to prevent the receipt of 'highly odorous wastes' at sites. As a brief update for each major site:
(a) Candy Soils (Tivoli) have a current proposal for a new facility in Ebenezer / Willowbank. This is a current development application 14401/2024/CA and is currently in the decision period although Council has sought further information from the applicant to inform a decision. Subject to an approval being granted, timing of the construction of this new facility is unknown. Please see Development.i for project updates.
(b)Nugrow are currently building improvements to their site at Swanbank and the first phase of these improvements are due to be completed in September 2026 and include enclosing the primary composting area into tunnels. A further phase of improvements is required between now and 2029 to enclose other parts of the facility such that all waste received and processed into the tunnels will be enclosed. For more information on this application, please see application number 7213/2014/MAOC/A on Development.i. For more information on the court order, please see 3098/23 IPSWICH CITY COUNCIL -V- NUGROW PTY LTD & others on QLD ecourts: https://apps.courts.qld.gov.au/esearching/FileDeta...
(c)Remondis has an approval to undertake limited composting at their site in Swanbank. They also have an approval to construct an enclosed facility. Information on the enclosed facility can be found by searching for application number 11235/2022/MAOC on Development.i. A recent application has been submitted to Council seeking amendments to this approval. The most current application can be found by searching for application number 11235/2022/MAMC/B on Development.i.
(d)WMI are located in White Rock and have a current approval to enclose their facility and the construct an enclosed bio digester for liquid wastes. This development application can be viewed by search for application number 3827/2019/CA on Development.i. There is a current appeal of a decision by Council's refusal of a request to extend the timeframes of approvals on the land. This appeal is in progress and the development application information can be viewed by searching for application number 4335/2011/MAMC/E on Development.i.
