October 27th, 2025Cracking down on illegal dumping

The state government is cracking down on illegal dumping across Victoria – cleaning up our parks and reserves, and holding illegal dumpers accountable for the mess they leave behind.

Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos has announced $21.5 million to bolster the Illegal Dumping Taskforce and deliver extra financial support for councils and public land managers to clean-up illegally dumped waste.

This will help public land managers clean up priority waste – like public health hazards – and will cover up to 50 per cent of the clean-up costs in situations where all avenues to trace the perpetrator and recover costs have been exhausted or are not feasible.

To catch more people flouting the law and hold them to account, $13 million will help the Illegal Dumping Taskforce ramp up surveillance, enforcement and clean-up efforts across Victoria.

The taskforce will be led by the EPA, who will work with Conservation Regulator and undertake enforcement activities using expanded intelligence and monitoring to detect and respond to waste crimes in key locations.

The taskforce will also review fines and cost recovery for illegal dumping, hold offenders to account through the courts and step up naming and shaming of those who do the wrong thing.

Rubbish dumping and littering on public land is illegal with a maximum penalty of $3,951,800 for businesses and $800,000 for individuals or five years imprisonment, or both.

All Victorians have a part to play in preventing waste dumping. To report illegal dumping contact the EPA on 1300 372 842.