Asbestos removal licensing in Victoria for residential builders

What it is

Victoria does not sit under the model Work Health and Safety scheme. Asbestos removal duties for builders here are set by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 made under the OHS Act 2004. The substance of the rules is similar to the harmonised WHS jurisdictions but the licence terminology, the regulator and the inspection programme are Victorian.

WorkSafe Victoria is the regulator and the licensing authority. The licence classes that matter on a residential build are Class A and Class B asbestos removal licences. Health monitoring is administered by WorkSafe and the medical assessments are done by appointed medical practitioners.

Class A and Class B licences

A Class A licence allows removal of any quantity of friable or non-friable asbestos containing material. A Class B licence covers any quantity of non-friable asbestos only. Friable asbestos is material that can be crumbled or reduced to powder by hand pressure when dry. Most asbestos cement sheet sold for residential construction before 1987 is non-friable. Pipe lagging, sprayed insulation and damaged degraded sheeting can be friable.

Under regulation 333 of the OHS Regulations 2017 a Class A licence holder must remove any friable asbestos. Under regulation 334 a Class B licence holder must remove non-friable asbestos in excess of 10 square metres in total. Below the 10 square metre threshold for bonded sheet a homeowner or unlicensed worker can technically remove the material, but a builder organising the work on a commercial project, or holding a domestic builder registration, is treated by WorkSafe as a PCBU with full duties under the OHS Act.

When the 10 square metre rule does not save you

Builders routinely misread the 10 square metre rule. The threshold applies to the total area of non-friable asbestos removed on the project, not per day or per worker. Cumulative removal across a renovation pushes most full-house strip-outs above the threshold, which then requires a Class B licensee.

The 10 square metre exemption also does not apply to removal in the course of business or undertaking by a person who is not the owner-occupier. A registered domestic builder running a job is a PCBU, the work is in the course of a business, and WorkSafe has prosecuted builders who relied on the homeowner exemption while running the job themselves.

Notification and asbestos register

Under regulation 340 a Class A or Class B licensed removalist must notify WorkSafe Victoria at least five days before licensed removal work begins. The notification has to include the address, the type of asbestos, the area and the removal control plan. Failure to notify is itself an offence.

A Victorian commercial building constructed before 31 December 2003 must have an asbestos register and a management plan under regulations 422 and 426. Residential single dwellings are excluded, but mixed use buildings and shared common areas in apartment buildings are caught. Builders working on apartment common areas need to ask for the register before starting work.

Where audits go wrong

WorkSafe Victoria inspectors target asbestos enforcement during residential renovations and demolitions. The recurring findings are a builder running a non-friable strip-out above 10 square metres without a Class B contractor, no removal control plan on site, no notification lodged, and air monitoring missing entirely. Health monitoring is often forgotten and a worker who later develops mesothelioma has a direct route to a workers compensation claim and the builder faces a WorkSafe investigation.

Prosecution exposure under section 21 of the OHS Act 2004 for failure to provide a safe workplace runs to $3.97 million for a body corporate as the maximum penalty in 2024 to 2025 penalty units. Multiple charges can be laid for breaches of specific asbestos regulations on top of the section 21 charge.

TradeLens audit triggers

A Victorian residential site flags as high risk on asbestos when any of these are present. Pre-1990 construction with planned demolition, framing alteration or wet area renovation. No asbestos register sourced for apartment common area work. Strip-out of asbestos cement sheet without a Class B contractor named on site documents. No WorkSafe notification for licensed removal work. No air monitoring or clearance certificate for friable removal. Disposal records that do not point to a licensed EPA-permitted facility.

What good looks like

Pre-demolition asbestos survey by an independent assessor. Class B contractor engaged before strip-out exceeds 10 square metres. Class A contractor engaged for any friable material, basement lagging or sprayed coatings. WorkSafe notification lodged at least five days before licensed removal. Removal control plan reviewed by the builder. Air monitoring and clearance certificate by an independent licensed asbestos assessor. EPA disposal receipts retained on the project file.