Changes to your licence or business

When to notify of changes

You need to let us know when:

you want to vary something on your export licence
there are changes to your operations
your business is closing down.

Vary something on your licence

You need to apply for a licence variation if you want to vary any of the following on your glass, plastic or tyre export licence:

the conditions of the licence
the specification/s
the kinds of waste material covered by the licence
the countries where the waste material may be exported
the tyre re-tread facility or the organisation that imports your tyres for re-use (tyre licences only)
the expiry date (this cannot be more than three years after the day the licence started)
your licence specified the name of the importer, and you want to add another importer.

You will need to apply for a licence variation to vary any of the following on your mixed or unsorted paper and cardboard licence:

the conditions of the licence
the specification/s
the kinds of waste material covered by the licence
the expiry date (this cannot be more than three years after the day the licence started).

We will need to assess your variation application.

You must continue to comply with the existing requirements of your licence until we approve the variation.

Regulated waste material	Add or remove an importer (in a place already stated on the licence)	Add an importer (in a new place, not already stated on your licence)	Add a waste type
Glass	Notify via WELD	Licence variation required	Licence variation required
Plastic	Notify via WELD	Licence variation required	Licence variation required
Tyres (Specified importer or re-treading facility)	Licence variation required	Licence variation required	Licence variation required
Tyres (No specified importer)	Notify via WELD	Licence variation required	Licence variation required
Paper and cardboard	Licence variation not required*	Licence variation not required*	Licence variation required

*Paper and cardboard licences will not limit licence holders to specific export countries or importers.

Licence holders who fail to comply with these requirements may be subject to a financial penalty under section 59(1)(c) of the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020. Find out how to comply and our approach to compliance.

Variation documents

You must provide documents to support your variation request.

The type of documents will depend on the variation.

For example, to add another country to your licence, you must show us why you want to add it. You should provide:

evidence of a commercial relationship with an importer in that country
evidence of how the waste material will be used in that country
the specification to which the waste will be processed before export. (If you’ve already provided this specification, tell us the specification name.)

Find out the types of documents you could provide.

Variation application

For glass, plastic and tyre licence variations, complete and submit your application through our Waste Export Licensing and Declaration (WELD) portal.

For paper and cardboard licence variations, a manual variation application form will be made available in coming weeks.

Only update the section of the form relating to the variation and complete the declaration page. You do not need to complete the entire form, however, you can use this form to tell us of other changes.

We will be able to process your application quicker if you submit:

a complete application with all supporting documents
documents that are legible and have a descriptive name.

You will need to provide this information before we can start to assess your application.

If you provide false or misleading information, you may be subject to a civil penalty or a criminal offence. Find out more about how to comply.

Changes to your business

You must tell us if any information you provided in your licence application or through other means has changed. For example, changes to:

your trading name, business address or email
export agents or freight forwarders
suppliers or importers of your waste (for glass, plastics and tyre licences)
your business structure
people in management or control of your business.

Tell us about the change via ‘My messages’ in your WELD portal as soon as practicable.

If you have any documents about the change, upload them with your message.

There are additional requirements if the change is to:

your supplier, importer, export agent or freight forwarder
the person who operates either your tyre re-tread facility or the business who imports your tyres for re-use. (If you change where you send your tyres for re-tread or change the importer of tyres you export for re-use, apply for a variation.)

For these changes, through the WELD portal you must:

complete and upload a notification of changes form with your message
upload any documents described on the form.

If your business is closing down

You need to let us know if your organisation is:

entering into administration
entering into an insolvency agreement
closing down.

Let us know via ‘My messages’ in your WELD portal.

We will notify you

Depending on the variation or change, we may:

ask for more information or documents
need to assess your application
do a fit and proper person check
need to update your licence.

We will also email you when we have either:

made a decision on your request to vary your licence
made your change.

You will need to log into the WELD portal to read the details of a decision to vary your licence.

If we approve your application to vary your licence, we will issue another licence with the updated details. Your licence number will not change.

If we refuse your application for a variation, we will tell you why we refused it. If you do not agree with our decision, you may ask for it to be reviewed.