EPA Victoria has revoked the operating licence of Barro Group, owners of the Sunshine landfill in Kealba. The landfill operations at the site will now permanently cease.
Last December, EPA took strong regulatory action and notified the duty holder of its intention to suspend the licence because it believed Barro Group was unable to effectively manage risks to the community arising from landfill operations at the site.
Through this process, Barro Group failed to demonstrate it could effectively manage the risks to the community from ongoing landfill operations and did not respond to the Notice of Intention to Suspend. Instead, Barro Group conceded its right to continue the landfill operations and EPA has revoked its operating licence.
Today's outcome is a direct result of the strong regulatory action EPA commenced in December 2025 and as a result, the landfill will never reopen.
In addition to the revocation, a new environmental notice carefully lay out Barro's ongoing responsibility on the site. Barro Group must continue to extinguish the final hotspot, and the duty holder is responsible for the total remediation of the site. While the landfill will never reopen, EPA will continue to hold Barro Group to account to make sure the landfill site is remediated. It is expected to take at least five years to extinguish the remaining hotspot and remediate the landfill.
"The landfill will never operate again. This decision gives community certainty, today'' said EPA CEO Joss Crawford.
"EPA won't stop here, our strong regulation of the site will continue. Barro Group do not get to walk away from the site and leave taxpayers to foot the bill. We have directed them to fully remediate the landfill site."
"We know local communities have been frustrated and understand the toll the landfill has taken on community members. The community can now take comfort in knowing that Barro Group will never again operate a landfill at the Kealba site."
"We look forward to the day the hotspot is out, and the landfill is remediated," said Ms Crawford.
EPA is not responsible for land use decisions but has held concerns about the suitability of this site due to its proximity to residential areas. Brimbank City Council approved the initial planning permit that allowed the site to be used for the purpose of landfill activity. Council has since had concerns about the site but was not successful in challenging Barro Group in 2015 in relation to its land use permit.
Brimbank City Council now has the opportunity to work with the Barro Group to determine the future use of the landfill site.
