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Litter in Australia is prevalent in many areas and a significant environmental problem, particularly in the large cities of Sydney and Melbourne.
An anti-litter movement began in 1969 in Victoria with the formation of Keep Australia Beautiful. Its major anti-littering campaigns "Do the right thing" and "Tidy Towns" became well known nationally. Today, the most vocal organisation is Clean Up Australia which holds a national clean up day.
There is currently no national legislation against litter, because the federal government is not authorised by the Constitution to legislate on such a subject.
It is considered the responsibility of either States and territories of Australia or Local Government Areas. All states and territories now have legislation against littering which may include fines that are enforceable by the police or other agents.
Littering is one of the reasons that around 130,000 tonnes of plastic end up in Australian waterways.[1]
In 2006, the most commonly littered item was cigarette butts, followed by items made from paper and cardboard with plastic items a close third.[2]
In 2015, Victoria was the state with most littering followed by Queensland.[3]
Litter generally describes something that has been put where it is not meant to be.[4] It can be solid or liquid and come from domestic or commercial use.[5]
In Victoria, the first legislation included the Environment Protection Act (1970) and later the Litter Act (1987).
The responsibility to enforce the regulation is divided between the EPA, Victoria Police, local governments, VicRoads, Parks Victoria and Melbourne Water.[2]
The Environment Protection Authority (Victoria) was the first to facilitate report littering online (based on vehicle registration details) by introducing the appropriate legislation and dispense fines. EPA was also the first in Australia to create a public litter reporting service in 2002.[6]
In 2015-16, more than 75 per cent of reports submitted to EPA Victoria by the public were about people discarding cigarette butts from their cars and 60% of offenders were male. Altona, Melbourne and Altona North were the three areas were the most littering was reported.[7]
Reporting pollution is a general environmental duty held by all Victorians and incorporated in Victorian law since 2018 and it includes reporting littering.[8]
As of 2024, fines for littering can go up to $769 for individuals and $3846 for corporations.[9]
Northern Territory followed Victoria and adopted the Litter Act (1972).
In South Australia the Container Deposit Legislation (1977) was introduced with the aim of reducing litter by encouraging recycling and remains the only state in Australia with this type of legislation.[10]
Anti-litter legislation was introduced to Western Australia through the Litter Act (1979).
Litter legislation was introduced to the Australian Capital Territory with the Litter Regulations (1993).
In Queensland, litter laws first came into place through the Environmental Protection Act (1994).
In New South Wales, legislation was introduced through the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.
In Tasmania, anti-litter legislation was introduced through the Litter Act (2007).
