Asbestos Removal Licensing in the ACT for Residential Builders

What it is

The ACT is a harmonised jurisdiction. Asbestos removal sits in Chapter 8 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (ACT), made under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT). WorkSafe ACT is the regulator. Access Canberra issues the asbestos removal and asbestos assessor licences.

The ACT then layers a second, tougher regime on top. Loose-fill asbestos insulation is managed under the Dangerous Substances Act 2004 (ACT) and the Dangerous Substances (General) Regulation 2004. That is the law that makes Canberra different from every other capital, and any builder quoting renovation work on a pre-1980 house has to understand it before pricing the job.

The ACT also runs a broader asbestos assessor licence than other states. In the ACT an assessor licence covers identification, risk assessment, air monitoring, clearance inspections and issuing clearance certificates.

Class A and Class B licences

Regulation 485 requires a Class A asbestos removal licence to remove friable asbestos and asbestos contaminated dust or debris. Regulation 487 requires a Class B licence to remove non-friable asbestos or asbestos containing material. A Class A licence covers Class B work as well.

Read regulation 487 carefully. There is no quantity qualifier in it. The 10 square metre threshold that sits in the model regulation, and in the Tasmanian, Queensland and Northern Territory versions, has been taken out of the ACT text.

The ACT has no 10 square metre exemption

From 1 January 2015 the removal of asbestos or asbestos containing material from any premises in the ACT, workplace or not, is not permitted unless a suitably licensed asbestos removalist does it. The only exception is removal incidental to minor routine maintenance work or other minor work: sealing or painting to maintain bonded material, clearing leaf litter from an asbestos cement roof gutter, or picking up small isolated pieces of material.

This is the single most misread fact in ACT residential construction. A builder who has worked in Queanbeyan or Sydney and assumes a 10 square metre allowance carries across the border is wrong. Strip one sheet of asbestos cement eaves lining off a Canberra house without a Class B licensee and the work is unlawful. WorkSafe ACT prosecutes it. The ACT Magistrates Court has imposed a fine of $400,000 for asbestos offences at a single renovation site.

Disturbing loose-fill asbestos is explicitly not minor routine maintenance work. It is Class A work, full stop.

Loose-fill asbestos and the Mr Fluffy legacy

Mr Fluffy is the common name for loose-fill asbestos insulation installed by D. Jansen and Co Pty Ltd and its successors between 1968 and 1979 in Canberra and the surrounding region. It was pumped raw into ceiling spaces. It migrates into wall cavities, subfloors and cornice gaps, which is why it turns up during a renovation rather than during an inspection.

Affected houses are listed on the ACT Affected Residential Premises Register. Under the Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Eradication Scheme announced in 2014 the ACT Government buys back affected houses, demolishes them and remediates the block. Where an owner stays in an affected property, the Dangerous Substances (General) Regulation 2004 requires an asbestos contamination report to be prepared and lodged with WorkSafe ACT.

Check the register before you quote. A residential builder who opens a ceiling in an affected house without a Class A removalist has created a contaminated site and a notifiable exposure event in the same afternoon.

Notification, air monitoring and clearance

Regulation 466 requires the licensed removalist to give WorkSafe ACT written notice at least 5 days before licensed removal work starts. In a genuine emergency the removalist phones WorkSafe ACT and submits the form within 24 hours.

Regulation 475 requires an independent licensed asbestos assessor to carry out air monitoring for Class A work using the membrane filter method. Regulation 473 requires a clearance inspection, by an independent licensed asbestos assessor for Class A work, and regulation 474 requires the written clearance certificate before the area is re-occupied.

Awareness training and the asbestos advice notice

Regulation 445 requires workers who may be involved in asbestos work to be trained. WorkSafe ACT treats the VET course 11084NAT Course in Asbestos Awareness as the way to meet it, and reads the duty to cover all building and construction workers. An inspector can ask any worker on your site for the statement of attainment.

Separately, since 1 July 2023 an ACT Asbestos Advice Notice must be given to new owners or lessees as part of contracts for sale and tenancy agreements for residential premises. It now applies to every home built in or before 1990, and it is also required during relevant development application processes.