Tip Vouchers Northern Rivers 2026: Who Gets Them & How
Tip vouchers in the Northern Rivers are a postcode lottery. Live in Lismore and council will give you $164 of free tipping a year. Live ten minutes away in Ballina Shire and you get nothing. This post lays out who gets tip vouchers, how much they're worth, how to actually claim and use them, and what the vouchers don't cover. Everything is from the council pages linked below, checked August 2026.
Who gets tip vouchers in the Northern Rivers?
Three councils issue them. Lismore City gives two $82 vouchers per household per financial year. Byron Shire gives two $50 vouchers per rateable residential property. Kyogle Council gives one $50 voucher per rateable property. Ballina Shire, Richmond Valley (Casino, Evans Head), Tweed Shire and Clarence Valley issue no tip vouchers at all; Tweed and Clarence run an on-call kerbside pickup instead, and Ballina and Richmond Valley offer nothing.
Lismore: two $82 vouchers
Who: households in the Lismore LGA (Lismore, Goonellabah, Nimbin, Clunes, Dunoon and the rest), owners and tenants.
How much: two "primary" vouchers per household per financial year, one per six-month period, each worth $82 at the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre or the Nimbin Transfer Station. If you don't use the full $82, any leftover of $2 or more is reissued as a secondary voucher.
The catches:
- You have to apply, online or by phone, with your rates assessment number or proof of tenancy. They aren't posted out automatically.
- Each voucher expires 30 days after it's issued, so don't apply until you're ready to go.
- The pool is capped at 5,000 vouchers a year, roughly 416 a month. Late in the month or late in the financial year, they can run out.
What it buys: $82 at the Lismore gate covers about 200 kg of unsorted waste ($410 per tonne) or about 270 kg self-sorted ($300 per tonne), or two mattresses at $39 each with change. At Nimbin, a ute or trailer load of general waste is $140 per load, so the voucher gets you most of the way there and you pay the remaining $58 in cash. Apply on Lismore's waste vouchers page. Gate fees are on the Lismore tip page.
Byron Shire: two $50 vouchers
Who: every rateable residential property in Byron Shire (Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Ocean Shores, Brunswick Heads, Bangalow, Suffolk Park and the rest).
How much: two $50 waste disposal vouchers per property for 2026/27. The rates notice itself is the voucher; there's no separate card to apply for. Tenants need a form signed by the owner.
What it covers: fridges and air conditioners, furniture, mattresses, carpet, garden waste, non-commercial renovation waste and mixed household waste. It does not cover tyres, commercial waste, liquids or asbestos, and any unused balance is forfeited; no change given.
What it buys: at the Myocum tip's $39.50 per 100 kg, a $50 voucher is about 125 kg of mixed waste, or one fridge ($50), or a mattress ($40) and a bag. Two vouchers together roughly cover a lightly loaded 6x4 trailer. Byron residents can also borrow council's free 8x5 courtesy trailer on weekdays (pick up 8.30am, back by 2pm, tow it yourself), which combined with the vouchers makes a weekday DIY run close to free. Details on the Byron Myocum tip page and council's Resource Recovery Centre page.
Kyogle: one $50 voucher
Who: each rateable property in Kyogle Shire, once a year.
How much: $50, good for one 7x5 trailer or ute load (which is $48 for a local) or smaller loads up to $50, and it can be used on a mattress or a fridge. You can't split a transaction between voucher and cash, so a $73 8x5 load can't be paid with the voucher plus $23.
The big catch right now: the Kyogle landfill has been running at reduced capacity since Cyclone Alfred damaged it in March 2025. As of August 2026 the council page still says only small household quantities (bins and bags) are accepted, with no bulky household waste, no furniture, timber, bricks or tiles. That makes the voucher hard to use for exactly the loads people want it for. See the Kyogle tip page and council's waste facility page.
Ballina, Richmond Valley, Tweed, Clarence: no vouchers
- Ballina Shire: no vouchers, no kerbside pickup. Council is upfront that the tip is user-pays. The upside is that Ballina's gate fee ($34.60 per 100 kg) is among the cheapest in the region, and mattresses go by weight rather than a flat $40. Details on the Ballina tip page.
- Richmond Valley (Casino, Evans Head, Coraki, Woodburn): nothing on the council website. Free drop-off was offered after Cyclone Alfred in March 2025 but that was a one-off.
- Tweed Shire: no vouchers; instead two on-call kerbside collections a year, up to 2 cubic metres each.
- Clarence Valley: no vouchers; one on-call bulky collection a year.
Which councils pick up from the kerb, and what they refuse, is in council kerbside cleanup in the Northern Rivers.
How to actually use a voucher
- Get it before you load. Lismore's expire 30 days after issue; Byron's is on your rates notice; Kyogle's comes with the rates.
- Bring ID and the rates notice or voucher. Gate staff check the property address matches.
- Sort the load. At Lismore, a load that's at least half recoverable (metal, green, cardboard) goes over the weighbridge at $300 per tonne instead of $410, so the same voucher covers a third more.
- Put the free stuff in the free piles first. E-waste, scrap metal, batteries, paint and gas bottles are free at every council tip; don't waste voucher value on them.
- Check the hours. Byron's weekend window is 8.30 to 11.30am and every tip except Stotts Creek is closed on public holidays. All of them are in Northern Rivers tip hours.
The voucher covers the fee, not the ute
A voucher is worth having and we'll always tell you to use it if you can. But it pays the gate, not the trailer hire, the fuel, the two people or the Saturday morning. If you've got a trailer and a mate, a voucher run is nearly free. If you don't, the gate fee is usually the smallest line in the job anyway: on a full heaped trailer at $330 to $380 with us, the tip fee is around $120 of that and the rest is the two of us doing the lifting.
If you're in Lismore, Byron or Kyogle Shire and want to use your voucher on a load we take, ask on the day; we can talk through whether it makes sense to hand it over at the gate or keep it for your own run. Our prices and what's included are on the tip runs page.