If asbestos containing material is in good condition it poses little health risk. However, when asbestos containing products are disturbed by cutting, drilling, water blasting or similar activities, small fibres may be released into the air.
These fibres are harmful if inhaled and may lead to asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma.
Around 4000 Australians die every year from asbestos related diseases, that’s double the road toll. Asbestos related diseases are preventable by following safe practices when working with asbestos.
You must always use a licensed asbestos professional to remove friable asbestos and when there is more than 10sqm of non-friable (bonded) asbestos. However due to the risks associated with disturbing asbestos, SafeWork NSW recommends you use a licensed asbestos professional to remove any amount of non-friable asbestos.
Types of Asbestos
Friable Asbestos
Friable asbestos is asbestos in a powder form or that can be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to a powder by hand pressure when dry.
Non-Friable Asbestos
Non-friable asbestos is material containing asbestos fibres reinforced with a bonding compound. It is also known as bonded asbestos and can be found in products such as asbestos cement sheeting commonly used in building materials between 1940’s to the late 1980’s.
Common Locations of Asbestos
If you’re renovating or working on a home or building built before the late 1980s, it may contain asbestos.
Asbestos materials were commonly used in flooring, kitchens, bathrooms, as well as roofs, ceilings, walls and more. There is no known safe minimum level of exposure.
Use the asbestos finder to see what products might contain asbestos and where they are commonly located.
If you think it’s asbestos, treat it like it is and call a licensed asbestos professional to help you assess it and remove it.
Asbestos Sampling and Testing
The only way to be certain that something contains asbestos is to have a sample tested in a laboratory. Treat all suspected asbestos as asbestos until test results confirm otherwise.
All asbestos testing should be done by a National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited facility. NATA accreditation is formal recognition that the facility produces reliable technical results.
A list of NATA accredited facilities is available on the NATA website.
It is strongly recommended that you use a licensed professional to collect samples of suspected asbestos for testing.
Asbestos Registers and Asbestos Management Plans
Asbestos Register
If your workplace was built before 31 December 2003 or if asbestos has been identified at the workplace, you must keep a register that outlines:
– when the asbestos was found
– where it is located
– what type of asbestos it is
– what condition it is in.
You must also:
1 – make the register available to anyone likely to be exposed to asbestos,
2 – keep it up to date
3 – pass it on to anyone who takes over management or control of the workplace.
Asbestos Management Plan
If asbestos has been identified at your workplace, you must prepare and maintain an asbestos management plan, regardless if the asbestos is naturally occurring or manufactured.
Your plan must include:
1 – reference (or a link) to the asbestos register, and signage and labelling
2 – safe work procedures and control measures
3 – incident and emergency procedures
4 – consultation arrangements, responsibilities and training details of workers undertaking asbestos removal or asbestos related work.
You must review the plan at least every five years or when:
requested by a health and safety representative (HSR)
asbestos is removed, disturbed, sealed or enclosed.
The plan must be available to anyone involved in work at the workplace.
Asbestos Awareness Training (less than 10sqm asbestos removal)
Less than 10sqm of Asbestos Removal
Asbestos awareness training must be provided to workers who are who are carrying out asbestos removal work of less than 10m2 and/or workers who are at risk of being exposed to asbestos while on the job, for example, electricians, plumbers, bathroom and kitchen renovators.
The training must be relevant to the task and must cover:
– asbestos identification
– safe handling of asbestos
– suitable control measures.
The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations contain specific obligations for a number of duty holders in relation to safely removing asbestos, including requirements for asbestos removalists to be licensed.
NSW WHS Regulations 2025 Part 8.10
Asbestos-containing dust or debris (ACD) at a workplace must be cleaned up by a Class A asbestos removalist unless:
- associated with a Class B asbestos removal job
- generated by a removal job of 10 m 2 or less of non-friable asbestos
- it is a ‘minor contamination’ not associated with asbestos removal.
What is asbestos-contaminated dust or debris(ACD)?
Asbestos-contaminated dust or debris (ACD) is dust or debris that has settled within a workplace and it is, or assumed to be, contaminated with asbestos. Examples of ACD include:
- ACD that has been accidentally dislodged from a wall or ceiling following a collision
- ACD that accumulated over time:
- in an ACM pipeline or conduit, surrounding an ACM cement flue
- in an electrical switchboard with an ACM electrical mounting board or conduit box
- on a horizontal surface covered by an ACM roof, and
- in the metal guttering from an ACM roof.
If it is reasonably practicable to remove the source of a minor contamination, this must be done. Depending on the amount of ACD and its state, removal of the source must be done by a licensed removalist (unless it is less than 10square metres of non-friable ACM).