The soil that leaves a site cut is not "just dirt" once it is waste from a business activity. EPA Victoria's page on managing waste soil, updated 19 February 2026, is the practical map. It is current law and guidance, not a change pencilled in for 2027.
This is general information, not legal or environmental advice. Classification is fact-specific. If the block has an industrial history, fill of unknown origin, or asbestos, get advice from someone who does that assessment before the first truck is loaded.
The duty that is already in force
Where waste soil is industrial waste, EPA says the duties in the Environment Protection Act 2017 apply to managing, transporting, depositing and receiving it. Industrial waste has to be identified and classified before control of it is handed over for transport. If the soil is sourced on site from contaminated land, EPA says it must be classified as soon as practicable after it is sourced. That timing is in regulation 62 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2021, which the page points to.
Priority waste and reportable priority waste add further duties. Category D is the least hazardous contaminated-soil category, and EPA says it is still reportable priority waste. That means a change of hands is tracked in Waste Tracker, and the load goes in a registered vehicle. Fill material is not in that bucket.
The waste codes
EPA's page names three codes before a load moves:
- N120, contaminated soil, which is reportable priority waste
- N122, fill material, which is industrial waste but not priority waste
- N123, acid sulfate soil, which is priority waste
Fill material, in EPA's words, is waste soil with extremely low levels of contamination that can be used without containment, for example to level land or fill pits. You do not need a permission to transport it, and you do not track it. You still have to send it to a place authorised to receive it, and you still have to meet the general environmental duty while it is on the truck. EPA also says a declaration of use cannot be used to apply fill material to land.
Category D can be reused or contained on the project only within the limits on that page, including an A17 permit if it is being contained on the project site. Otherwise it goes to a landfill authorised to receive Category D. The levy dollars attached to these categories are on the 2026-27 waste levy page.
Soil containing asbestos only is its own category, and only where the other contaminant levels stay within the fill-material upper limits. If contaminant levels are higher, EPA says the soil is Category A, B, C or D instead. Asbestos-containing material has to be removed so far as reasonably practicable before soil is treated as fill.
What it means on a western-suburbs block
A new estate lot that has only ever been pasture, with a soil report and no unexpected fill, is often priced as material a clean-fill site can take. That is an assumption you should see written on the quote. It is not a finding that the soil is N122.
The assumption fails more often on a knockdown, a block with a history of workshops, fuel, market gardening or imported fill, and anywhere an overlay flags contamination. Our notes on a site cut after demolition and on septic and underground tanks in Melton are the jobs where "just take it to clean fill" needs a second look. Melton East's planning controls are a separate issue: the amendment described by the Victorian Planning Authority includes an Environmental Audit Overlay on land identified as a higher contamination risk. Read that with the Melton East drainage note, and do not treat the overlay as something an excavator operator classifies from the cab.
EPA says sampling guidance is for environmental professionals. Triggers it lists include potentially contaminated land, known contaminated land, soil mixed with other waste, soil of unknown origin brought onto the site, and former industrial, commercial, mining or agricultural use. A residential site cut does not automatically need a laboratory program. It does need an honest answer, before the trucks are booked, about which of those triggers might apply.
We move the soil. We do not write the classification. If you already have an environmental report, send it with the soil-removal enquiry so the receiving site matches the report.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a new 2027 spoil law?
No. These duties sit under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and the Environment Protection Regulations 2021. EPA Victoria's waste-soil page was updated on 19 February 2026. That is a refresh of current guidance, not a start date in 2027.
Can clean fill from a site cut go anywhere?
No. EPA says fill material is still industrial waste. It does not need a transport permission or Waste Tracker, but it must go to a place authorised to receive it, and the general environmental duty still applies.
Sources
- Manage waste soil, EPA Victoria, updated 19 February 2026.
- Environment Protection Regulations 2021, regulation 62, classifying soil sourced on-site from contaminated land.
Check the EPA page for the current wording before you move soil. This article does not classify any particular block.