Asbestos Removal Licensing in South Australia for Residential Builders

What it is

South Australia is a harmonised work health and safety jurisdiction. Asbestos duties sit in Chapter 8 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA), made under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA). SafeWork SA administers both and issues the licences for asbestos work.

A workplace in South Australia includes residential premises while a PCBU is working there. The moment a builder starts work on a house, the house is a workplace and Chapter 8 applies.

Three authorisations matter on a residential job: the Class A removal licence, the Class B removal licence and the assessor licence.

Class A and Class B licences

A Class A licence allows the holder to remove friable asbestos, non-friable asbestos and asbestos contaminated dust or debris. It is the licence needed for any quantity of friable material.

A Class B licence covers more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos and the contaminated dust from that removal. It does not extend to friable material.

SafeWork SA draws one line that catches builders out. Asbestos backed vinyl floor coverings and other friable products need a Class A licence. A Class B holder cannot lift them, and old lino in a 1960s Adelaide kitchen is what people underestimate.

When a licence is not required

Removal by a person holding neither licence is permitted where the asbestos is 10 square metres or less of non-friable material, or the contaminated dust from removing that amount. SafeWork SA puts the area at roughly the size of a small bathroom.

The band is narrow and it is not a licence to be casual. The 10 square metre figure is the total at the workplace, not a per day allowance, and cumulative removal across a renovation passes it quickly. A builder running the job is a PCBU with the full primary duty regardless: risk assessment, controls, respiratory protection and asbestos awareness training for every worker who could disturb the material.

Notification to SafeWork SA

A Class A or Class B licence holder must notify SafeWork SA of licensed removal work at least 5 days before it commences. The notification identifies the site, the licence holder, the type and quantity of asbestos and the removal control plan.

The removalist must also inform the people affected: the person who commissioned the work, the person with management or control of the workplace, and at a house the occupier, the owner and the neighbours.

Air monitoring and clearance in SA

South Australia departs from the model code here, and the departure is worth reading twice. The model Code of Practice: How to Safely Remove Asbestos says air monitoring is not required when removing more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos. In South Australia it is required for both Class A and Class B removal work.

Air monitoring during licensed removal must be carried out by an independent licensed asbestos assessor, immediately before and during the work.

Once licensed removal is finished, a clearance inspection and a clearance certificate are required before the area can be reoccupied. For Class A work the inspection must be done by a licensed asbestos assessor. For Class B work an independent competent person with the relevant training can carry it out.

Register, management plan and handover

The person with management or control of a workplace carries the register and plan duties. An asbestos register is required unless the building was constructed after 31 December 2003, no asbestos has been identified and none is likely to be present. In practice every pre 2004 workplace needs one.

Where asbestos has been identified, a written asbestos management plan must be prepared under regulation 429. It sits on top of the register and records the control decisions, the safe work procedures and the review timetable.

Regulation 428 catches a step people forget. A person with management or control who gives it up must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the register goes to the person taking over. This feeds into the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Regulations 2010, so the register follows the property.

Engineered stone and crystalline silica

The prohibition on manufacturing, supplying, processing and installing engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs commenced on 1 July 2024 and applies in South Australia. From 1 September 2024 stronger rules apply to all work with materials containing at least 1 per cent crystalline silica, reaching concrete cutting, tile cutting and brick chasing.

What good looks like

An independent survey before any pre 1990 South Australian house is opened up. A Class A holder for friable material and for asbestos backed vinyl. A Class B holder before the bonded strip out passes 10 square metres. Notification 5 days ahead. Air monitoring on every licensed removal, Class A and Class B alike. A clearance certificate before anyone goes back in. Disposal receipts from an EPA licensed facility on file.