Transport certificate
- About TCs
- Create a TC
- Search a TC
- Update a TC – pick-up, arrival, acceptance, processing, rejection
- Terminate a TC
- Record discrepancy
- View discrepancy record
About TCs
A transport certificate (TC) records the movement of a waste load: the actual pick-up of waste, its delivery to a receiving facility and its acceptance and processing (or rejection) by the facility, as well as any discrepancies in the operation.
Provided you enter the required data, a TC created using online waste tracking meets the requirements of SA legislation. The TC can be used to record waste movements within SA or waste movements from interstate to a SA facility. For waste movements from SA to an interstate facility, contact the environment agency in the destination state or territory for advice on requirements.
The consignor or receiving facility nominated on the CA can create a TC, provided that they have the appropriate log-on access. Once the TC has been created, it should be printed and the printed copy should accompany the waste load during transport. It does not matter who prints the TC, as long as it is available to accompany the waste during transport. The consignor, transporter and receiving facility should sign the appropriate part of the TC and the receiving facility should retain the signed TC for 12 months from receipt of the waste.
Create a TC
1. Search for and select a consignment authorisation
A TC is derived from a consignment authorisation so on the New TC screen, first search for and select a CA that matches the movement of the specific waste, from and to the appropriate consignor and receiving facility.
TCs can be created in advance but waste must be picked up before the CA nominated on the TC has expired. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will terminate any unused TCs once the CA has expired or been terminated.
You must enter data in at least one of the search fields: CA no, waste code, consignor, receiving facility or CA status. If there are more than 100 records matching your search criteria, you will be asked to further refine your search by entering data in more of the search fields.
2. If there is no matching CA to create a TC to send with the waste load, the receiving facility can create a new CA to cover the waste movement. See Help – consignment authorisation.
If there is no matching CA and the waste load has already been transported to your receiving facility, click the Create TC w/o CA button on the Existing CA screen to enter the waste movement details. This situation may occur when the waste is accompanied by a handwritten TC or is not accompanied by a TC. See Help – discrepancies and exceptions.
TIP Click on View 
to see a full list of consignors to choose from when creating a TC w/o CA.
The consignor, waste and receiving facility details, are copied from the selected CA to the TC being created.
If you are a producer or receiving facility, the producer premises details are also copied from the CA.
Click the Next button.
Select a transporter from the Custom list or Full list of transporters. Save time and create your own custom list of preferred transporters to choose from.
Click Next.
Data from the selected consignment authorisation (CA) and data that you have selected for the TC are copied to the draft TC.
- Some of the data is automatically entered by the system and cannot be changed, i.e. the data that defines the CA. To change this data, you will need to cancel the draft TC and create a new TC using a CA that covers the required waste movement.
- Some data can be changed for the particular TC, e.g. contact details may change from time to time; some waste data can be updated for the particular waste load.
- Some new data can be entered, e.g. add additional notes for transport drivers or others involved in the movement of the waste load to ensure that operations go smoothly.
TIP - Important
Enter phone numbers as follows:
Landlines – (99) 9999 9999
Mobiles – 9999 999999.
TIP If data which can be changed has changed permanently (eg a new contact person has been appointed), change the data on the CA and the changed data will appear on all new TCs created from that CA.
TIP Clicking the Print draft TC button will generate a TC without a TC number for checking only. This is not a valid TC. You must click the Create TC button to create a valid, numbered TC.
TIP Make sure all data fields marked with * are completed.
Legal responsibilities: You must check the box indicating that you accept the legal responsibilities of creating the TC.
TIP If you do not want to go ahead with creating the TC from the draft TC, click Cancel. Your data will not be saved.
Click the Create TC button.
Once the TC is created you can:
- View and print the numbered TC to send with your transporter.
- Email a copy of the TC to yourself for your records and to the contacts in the other businesses involved in the waste movement.
- Update the TC with the pick-up details, if the waste load has already been picked up.
TIP It is possible to create several TCs for later use if desired. For example, if the user who normally creates TCs is going on leave, they could create enough TCs to cover waste movements during the leave period. The 'proposed delivery period' on a CA is the expected time between when a waste is picked up from the consignor and when it arrives at the receiving facility. It does not limit how far in advance of pick-up a TC can be created.
Search a TC
Use the Existing TC screen to locate the TC when you want to:
- Update TC – record pick-up, arrival, acceptance or rejection, and processing, of the waste load
- View TC – display TC details onscreen, and
- Print TC – generate a printer-friendly version of the TC displayed
- View discrepancy – display any discrepancies recorded for the TC
- Terminate TC – cancel the movement of the waste load
You must enter data in at least one of the search fields: CA number, waste code, consignor, receiving facility or CA status. If there are more than 40 records matching your search criteria, you will be asked to further refine your search by entering data in more of the search fields.
TIP Use the Status dropdown to quickly refine your search.
TIP Click the column headings in the Search results table to sort the list. Click again to sort the list in reverse order.
TIP You do not have to type the complete name you are searching for. Refine your search quickly by, say, typing the first three letters of the business, the suburb, etc.
Update a TC
Change details
If, after creating the TC, you need to change some details, you can:
- Change the selected transporter by either choosing from the full list of licensed transporters, or save time and create your own custom list of preferred transporters to choose from, using the Tools function.
- Update contact details.
TIP It is essential that you keep your contact details up to date – if there is an accident during transport, emergency services rely on this information to contact your business if they need more information about the waste.
Record waste movement
1. Picked up
Once waste has been picked up you can update the TC to enter the pick-up details.
If a printed copy of the TC is not available when the waste is picked up, a handwritten TC containing the required information can be used. Information on the handwritten TC can be entered into the system by the receiving facility later, when access to the online system is available. Lack of access to the online system should not prevent waste being transported. See What do I do if online waste tracking is not available?
TIP When recording waste amount, select the most convenient unit from the list available. Tonnes and kilograms are available for all waste types. Litres is available for most waste types, except where the waste can only ever be a solid. Other units are available for specific waste types, such as cubic metres for contaminated soil and number of drums for drums contaminated with a controlled waste. The system has in-built conversion factors to convert waste amount to kilogram for comparing waste amount at pick-up and arrival.
TIP In certain circumstances, it is impractical to update the TC with the amount of waste at pick-up. Online waste tracking allows for this by providing a 'waste amount at pick-up required' check box. If it is impractical to record waste amount at pick-up, uncheck this box when creating a CA. The EPA monitors the use of the waste amount at pick-up not required function. Receiving facilities that abuse the option (ie uncheck the 'waste amount at pick-up required' checkbox when the waste amount can clearly be recorded at pick-up) may lose their approval to issue CAs.
2. Arrived, accepted and processed, or rejected
It is a requirement that a paper TC accompany all waste movements that must be tracked. There is no reason for a paper TC not to accompany waste during transport. Checking the 'No paper TC' box automatically creates an exception report. See Help – discrepancies and exceptions.
If waste arrives without a paper TC, the receiving facility may still accept the waste if it is legally able to and wants to accept it. See What do I do if waste arrives without a paper TC?
A receiving facility may store the waste temporarily for up to 21 days to while deciding whether to accept or reject the waste. (If you need more time to make a decision, e.g. you are waiting on test results, contact the EPA for an extension of time).
Accepted and processed
Receiving facilities can continue to update the TC to show the status of the waste load through the waste tracking system: arrival, and acceptance and processing.
TIP The system will automatically take you to the correct screen, depending on the status of the TC.
TIP Receiving facilities can record on a single screen the arrival and acceptance, or arrival, acceptance and processing, by clicking the button equivalent to the latest step the waste load has reached in the tracking process. For example, if the waste has arrived and you want to record acceptance at the same time, click on the accepted button (rather than the arrived button) to record arrival and acceptance at the same time.
TIP Once waste has been accepted, any subsequent movement of the waste from the receiving facility requires a new CA and TC.
OR
Rejected
Receiving facilities may reject a waste load, eg if the waste has been incorrectly characterised and the receiving facility is not licensed to accept the waste.
Enter the reason for rejection, and whether the waste was returned to the consignor or forwarded to another receiving facility that will and can legally accept it. The CA and TC covering the transport of the waste to the receiving facility also covers subsequent movement of the rejected waste.
The online system will generate an automatic exception report. See Help – discrepancies and exceptions. The EPA will follow up the exception report to check that the rejected waste is transported to the facility to which it was sent and to undertake any other actions arising from the waste rejection that are considered appropriate.
If the receiving facility refuses to tell the transporter where to take the rejected waste, the transporter must, within 3 days, contact the EPA in writing that the waste has been rejected and where the transporter has taken the rejected waste. If the transporter is uncertain as to where to take the waste, they should contact the EPA or the consignor.
3. TC updated
Once the TC is updated you can:
- Email a copy of the TC to yourself for your records and to the contacts for the other businesses involved in the waste movement.
- View and print the updated TC.
- Update the TC further.
Terminate a TC
Selecting a TC and clicking the Terminate button generates a pop-up window, asking you to confirm that you want to terminate the TC. Once pick-up has been recorded, a TC cannot be terminated.
A terminated TC:
- cannot be further updated
- cannot be 'un-terminated'.
TIP TCs can be created in advance but waste must be picked up before the CA nominated on the TC has expired. The EPA will terminate any unused TCs once the CA has expired or been terminated.
Record discrepancy
When a waste load arrives at a receiving facility and the details of the waste load recorded on the TC differ from the actual details of the waste load delivered, the receiving facility must record the discrepancy:
- Search for and select the TC.
- Click the Update TC button.
- Click the Record discrepancy button on the Update TC screen.
- Adjust any waste that are incorrect.
- Adjust any consignor details that are incorrect.
- Adjust any transporter details that are incorrect and indicate whether a change of transporter was authorised/expected.
TIP If the difference between the amount of waste recorded at pick-up and arrival varies by more than 20%, an exception report is automatically created by the system. As long as the waste amount is recorded in the online system at pick-up and arrival, there is no need to record the variation in waste amount separately as a discrepancy.
TIP To record a discrepancy in the consignor or transporter, you can search the list of consignors or transporters in the online system by clicking on View . If you cannot find the consignor or transporter you want, type in their details.
See Help – discrepancies and exceptions.
Change of transporter expected?
Waste may be transferred directly between vehicles during transit, provided the transfer is recorded on the paper TC accompanying the waste and the paper TC is transferred with the waste.
- Check the 'change in transporter authorised/expected' box on the discrepancy report if the transfer has been recorded on the paper TC and the receiving facility has no reason to believe that the transfer involved any illegal activity. Enter the details of the transporter who delivered the waste as the discrepancy.
- Uncheck the 'change in transporter authorised/expected' box on the discrepancy report if the transfer has not been recorded on the paper TC or the receiving facility believes that the transfer may have involved illegal activity.
See Help – discrepancies and exceptions.
View discrepancy record
To view the discrepancy record of a TC:
- Search for and select an existing TC
- Click the View button to display the TC
- Click the View discrepancy button on the displayed TC – if there is no discrepancy for the TC, a pop-up message will indicate this.
