Regulatory frameworks can significantly affect the development and uptake of initiatives to recycle or re-use wastes and by-products in an industrial region, commonly referred to as regional synergies. Too many minor regulatory barriers discourage an organisation from investigating opportunities to recycle, re-use or recover their wastes or by-products. On the other hand, frameworks with facilitating mechanisms or suitable financial incentives can provide the necessary inducement for organisations to develop successful regional synergy initiatives. This article reviews Queensland's regulatory waste management framework and discusses their effect on the development of regional synergy initiatives, with particular reference to some of the practical aspects and issues of synergy development in the Gladstone industrial region in Queensland.