Scrap Metal Prices in Newcastle
Newcastle's heavy industry legacy — steelworks, port operations, coal handling — created a robust scrap economy. The Port of Newcastle still handles bulk ferrous exports.
Current scrap metal prices in Newcastle
Spot price equivalents adjusted for Newcastle's regional rate (0.96×). Actual yard payouts apply the grade-specific payout rate on top — typically 12–78% of spot depending on grade.
| Metal | Sydney spot | Newcastle equiv. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | $21.31 | $20.46 | Grades & payouts → |
| Aluminium | $4.36 | $4.19 | Grades & payouts → |
| Brass | $16.05 | $15.41 | Grades & payouts → |
| Steel | $0.42 | $0.40 | Grades & payouts → |
| Stainless Steel | $2.29 | $2.19 | Grades & payouts → |
| Lead | $2.72 | $2.61 | Grades & payouts → |
| Zinc | $5.37 | $5.15 | Grades & payouts → |
| Nickel | $22.33 | $21.43 | Grades & payouts → |
How Newcastle compares
Scrap yards in Newcastle pay roughly 4% below the Sydney national benchmark (0.96× regional adjustment). Among Australian regional centres, rates here are closest to Wollongong (0.95×). Proximity to major ports and smelter networks keeps Newcastle's rates close to the national best.
Where the yards are in Newcastle
Newcastle's scrap trade sits on the harbour's industrial flats. Kooragang Island, between the coal loaders and the fertiliser plant, holds the region's largest ferrous and non-ferrous yard, run by a national recycler, along with car-removal operators. Carrington, Sandgate and Hexham on the port's road links have merchants offering bins and pickups for industry, and Mayfield West and Tomago carry general recyclers serving the smelter and heavy-industry contractors north of the river.
South and west, the Lake Macquarie suburbs of Teralba, Gateshead, Charlestown and Warners Bay have smaller independents and non-ferrous specialists that take copper, brass, cable, batteries, radiators and air conditioners from tradespeople and household clean-outs.
Where Newcastle's metal goes
The BHP steelworks closed in 1999, and no scrap-fed mill has replaced it, so the Kooragang Island yard is where local ferrous is consolidated. Steel that is not processed there is trucked to the electric arc furnace at Rooty Hill in Sydney, roughly 160 km south down the M1; Newcastle itself is 162 km from Sydney. That haul, offset by the strong yard on the port, is why Newcastle prices sit only a notch below Sydney's.
What's different about selling in Newcastle
NSW rules apply: dealers must be registered with NSW Police, cannot pay cash, and must record who sold them what. Supply in the Hunter is unusually industrial for a regional city. The Tomago smelter, Australia's largest aluminium producer and secured to 2038 by a government deal in August 2026, generates aluminium offcuts and contractor scrap; the world's biggest coal port and the Upper Hunter mines feed heavy plate, machinery and conveyor steel back through Newcastle yards; and a chain-owned yard at Muswellbrook catches mine scrap before it reaches the coast. Expect yards to be busy with commercial loads on weekday mornings and to close at the weekend.
Rules for selling scrap in New South Wales
- Governing law
- Scrap Metal Industry Act 2016 and Scrap Metal Industry Regulation 2024, administered by the NSW Police Force. Any business dealing in scrap metal must be registered with NSW Police (registration lasts three years).
- Photo ID
- Yes, for every sale. The dealer must record each transaction including the parties involved, and the Regulation prescribes the photo identification a seller can use: an Australian driver licence (NSW or another jurisdiction), a NSW Photo Card, or a foreign driver licence subject to conditions. No weight or value threshold is set out in the sources reviewed.
- Cash payments
- Cash is banned. Section 12 of the Act prohibits a dealer paying for scrap metal with cash, a cheque payable to cash, or in kind, and from advertising cash payment. All trade must be paid electronically or by cheque. The 2020 statutory review paper lists a $1,100 penalty notice for the dealer.
- Scrapping a vehicle
- Dealers must not buy or dispose of an unidentified motor vehicle (section 14), so the VIN must be intact. If you sell a car with its plates to a wrecker, submit a notice of disposal to Service NSW. If you sold it without plates or it was written off, cancel the registration and return the plates to a service centre, within 14 days for a written-off vehicle, bringing proof of identity, the cancellation form and the plates.
- Container deposit scheme
- Return and Earn, 10 cents per eligible container, running since December 2017. From mid-2027 the scheme expands to wine and spirit bottles, cordial and concentrate containers, and larger containers up to 3 litres.
- Also worth knowing
- The dealer must keep transaction records (date, parties, description of the metal, payment method) for three years and must report suspected stolen scrap metal to police (section 13). Dealers are exempt from recording a vehicle's identifier if it was crushed, cubed or shredded before the transaction.
Summarised from the legislation and government guidance linked on our state-by-state rules guide. Rules change; confirm with the yard before you go.
Other New South Wales scrap markets
Yards across New South Wales pay rates relative to their distance from major smelters and ports. Sydney is the state capital and typically has the most competitive rates in the state.
Popular items: what they're worth in Newcastle
Estimated scrap value at Newcastle yards. Assumes properly prepared material (oil drained, copper stripped from motors, refrigerant degassed where required).
Scrap yards in Newcastle
9 scrap yards listed in the Newcastle area with addresses, phone numbers, and ratings. Browse all 9 yards →
Frequently asked questions about scrap metal in Newcastle
Where are the best scrap metal yards in Newcastle? +
Our yard directory lists Newcastle yards with addresses, phone numbers and Google ratings, but we don't rank them — the best yard for you depends on the metal, the load size and who is paying well that week. The practical approach is to call 2-3 yards before transporting a load: published rates are useful guides, but actual offers vary by day, load size, and material quality.
Why does Newcastle pay less than Sydney for scrap metal? +
The 4% gap to Sydney reflects transport costs. Metal sold in Newcastle eventually travels to a smelter or export port — typically via Sydney — and yards price the freight cost into their offer. Our regional adjustment is modelled from observed yard rates plus distance to processing facilities.
What's the highest-paying scrap metal in Newcastle? +
Copper, by a wide margin. Clean bare-bright copper currently pays around $15.96 per kilogram in Newcastle. Brass and aluminium follow, with steel paying the least per kilogram but compensating through volume — most ferrous loads are weighed on commercial weighbridges where small differences in rate matter less than tonnage.
Do Newcastle scrap yards require photo ID? +
Yes for most non-ferrous metals and always for lead-acid batteries and catalytic converters. New South Wales legislation requires yards to record seller identification on regulated transactions, primarily to deter metal theft. A driver's licence is the most commonly accepted form. Cash payments above certain thresholds may require additional documentation under state-specific regulations.
What other NSW cities have scrap yards? +
Yes — Albury, Central Coast, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, and others all have active scrap yards covered on this site. Sydney (the New South Wales capital) generally has the most yards and most competitive rates in the state.
When is the best time of week to bring a load to a Newcastle yard? +
Tuesday through Thursday mornings generally produce the best experience. Yards are less crowded than Mondays (when weekend volume arrives), prices are stable mid-week, and weighbridge wait times are shorter. Many Newcastle yards close early on weekends or operate reduced hours, so confirm opening times before transport.