FAQ's

What is an asbestos management plan and do I need one?

An asbestos management plan is a live document which aims to identify asbestos in your workplace. The plan also details how to manage risks, how to deal with any emergencies involving asbestos and generates a schedule to review these risks. It must be provided to any person who may come into contact with asbestos including staff, visitors and tradespeople. Ultimately, if the building or workplace has the possibility of containing asbestos, it must have an asbestos management plan. By law (The Health & Safety at Work Act - Asbestos Regulations 2016) a building built prior to 2000 must have an active asbestos management plan in place.

Do I need an asbestos survey?

If you are contracting people to carry out work on your home or workplace, you become a PCBU (person conducting business or undertaking). As a PCBU, your legal responsibility includes identifying all asbestos materials in the area of work before any work is started. All asbestos materials that are found must be removed prior to work starting if they risk being disturbed. A licensed asbestos removal contractor must be engaged should the removal work be categorised as licensed work. Licensed asbestos removal work is the removal of >10m2 of non-friable asbestos material and any amount of friable asbestos material. Class B removal licences are required for removing non-friable asbestos materials and class A removal licences are required for removing friable asbestos.

I am renovating my home and I am unsure if asbestos is present, what should I do?

Get a survey to check for asbestos!

All asbestos materials in the area of planned renovations must be identified before any work starts. This is a legal requirement as per the asbestos regulations passed in 2016. The most effective way to identify asbestos is to engage a reputable asbestos assessor to carry out an asbestos refurbishment survey. An asbestos refurbishment survey is a targeted survey carried out in the area you intend to work on. For example, if you are planning to have a new kitchen fitted, the old kitchen must be checked for asbestos materials by completing a survey before work has started to remove the old kitche. Should asbestos materials be identified in the survey, these materials must be removed prior to any renovation work starting. The type of asbestos found will determine which type of licence is required to remove it (see FAQ 3).

I found a material which might be asbestos, what should I do?

First and foremost, stop any work you may be doing. Isolate the area to prevent access. Then, give us a call. We can either offer advice over the phone or on site. Further action will be determined by the type and condition of the material found.