Life cycle of a licence
Most EPA licences are granted for 5 years.
You must submit a renewal prior to the expiry of your licence. You will also be required to lodge an annual return, which will be explained to you by your licence coordinator.
There is the opportunity for shorter or longer licences but this will all be subject to negotiation with the licence coordinator.
Conditions on your licence will also be subject to regular review to ensure that harm to the environment is minimised or avoided.
The following diagram depicts the common lifecycle of a licence. Several things to note:
- Not all licensees require development approval.
- Not all licensees surrender their licence or conduct all activities within their licence during its life.
- Not all licences reach expiry and not all have public notification either.
Stages
- Development approval: If development consent is required, the EPA cannot issue you with a licence until consent is obtained. It is in the applicant’s interest to determine what is required under the relevant planning provisions before making an application for a licence.
- Application for licence: An application form is required to be completed by the applicant and submitted to the EPA.
- Public are notified: The EPA may notify the public of the request for a licence or exemption or works approval and offer the chance for public comment. The applicant will also have the chance to respond to public comments.
- Licence conditions established: The EPA will determine the appropriate conditions of licence or exemption or works approval in consultation with the applicant.
- Licence is granted: The EPA will grant approval for the licence and send an invoice for the licence fee.
- Annual return: The licensee must complete the licence annual return 90 days before to the anniversary date of the licence.
- Ongoing maintenance: Changes may need to occur during the term of your licence. The licensee is responsible for advising the EPA of any changes to their operations that may affect the licence, such as:
- expanding or reducing their operational processes (this may require changes to licence conditions)
- relocating their operations
- changes to licence details such as staff contact details, postal address, etc.
- Renewal: The licensee must submit an application to renew a licence 90 days before to its expiry.
- Surrender: If the licensee believes they no longer require a licence they can request to surrender to licence. This is subject to approval from the EPA.
- Transfer: If a licensed company is sold or taken over by another company, the licence must be transferred to the new owners prior to that taking place. A licensee may apply to transfer their licence to another legal entity.
- Expiry/cancellation: If the licence fee is not paid, the licence may be cancelled. If the EPA no longer believe the licensee is fit to hold a licence the licence may be cancelled. The licensee may also apply to have the licence cancelled if they shut down their operations.