• What law applies
• What is asbestos and where is it found
  • What is asbestos?
  • Types of asbestos
• Identification and management of asbestos
  • Asbestos management plans
• Asbestos removal
  • Requirements for the removal of ACM
• Safe work practices when maintaining asbestos
• Information for householders and renovators

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Identification and management of asbestos

Identification of asbestos
Register of asbestos-containing materials (ACM)
Risk assessments
Control measures

Identification of asbestos

It is often very difficult to identify the presence of asbestos by sight. The only way to be certain is to have a sample of the material analysed by a laboratory.

Sampling of anything you suspect may contain asbestos is itself hazardous and should only be done by a competent person, and analysed only in accredited laboratories.

More information on identifying asbestos and where this can be done is available from the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) (non-Queensland Government link).

Asbestos in the workplace

Part 9 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link) requires that owners of workplaces must ensure all asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in their workplaces are identified, as far as practicable.

An owner must:

• identify the locations of all asbestos-containing material (ACM) and determine whether any inaccessible areas are likely to contain ACM
• identify the types (e.g. asbestos cement sheet, asbestos lagging on pipes and flues, asbestos-containing material gaskets in plant or machinery) and condition (i.e. damaged or intact) of ACM.

Only people who are competent in the identification of asbestos-containing materials are permitted to carry out these tasks.

More information on identifying asbestos and where this can be done is available from the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) (non-Queensland Government link).

Asbestos identified in the workplace must be recorded in a register of asbestos-containing materials.

Warning signs and labels to identify ACM in the workplace should also be used to ensure that the asbestos is not unknowingly disturbed without the correct precautions being taken. 

More information is available in the Fact Sheet - Identifying and recording asbestos in the workplace (PDF, 95 kB).

Register of asbestos-containing materials (ACM)

Under the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008 and the asbestos management code, owners of the following structures used as workplaces must keep an accurate register of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in:

• buildings built under approvals given by local governments before 1 January 1990
• non-building structures where there is ACM fixed or installed, e.g. fixed plant.

Even if no asbestos is found, a register should still be kept which records this fact.

Part 9.3 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link) details the information that the register should contain, including:

Identification

• dates of inspections
• location, type (i.e. friable or bonded) and condition (damaged or intact) of identified asbestos
• details of materials presumed to contain asbestos
• inaccessible areas likely to contain asbestos
• any analysis results.

Risk assessment

• dates of risk assessments and details of the competent person that performed them
• findings and conclusions of risk assessments
• results of any air monitoring for airborne asbestos fibres.

Control measures

• the control measures resulting from a risk assessment
• details of any maintenance work or service on ACM.

The register is to be made readily accessible to:

• workers and their representatives
• any other employers within the
• any person removing ACM
• any person engaged to perform work that may disturb ACM
• any other person who might be exposed.

Asbestos in domestic premises

Part 9.4 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link) states how to manage asbestos in domestic premises when they are also workplaces, for example when someone is contracted to do work in a home that may expose them to asbestos, such as renovation work.

All businesses that perform work which may involve exposure to asbestos, including at domestic premises, must establish an asbestos management plan for the work to be carried out.

While many domestic premises contain asbestos-containing materials (ACM), they are unlikely to have a register of ACM. Precautions must be taken before work begins to identify the likelihood that ACM is present. While particular attention should be paid to buildings built prior to 1990, recycled materials used in buildings built after 1990 may contain asbestos.

Work at domestic premises that may involve exposure to ACM includes:

• demolition and renovation
• electrical maintenance or installation, including work on electrical meter boards
• maintenance or installation of walls, roofing, ceilings or flooring
• plumbing maintenance or installation.

If there is any known or suspected asbestos on the premises, the owner, occupier and/or resident must be informed.

Where asbestos is present or assumed to be present, work must be done in accordance with the risk assessment and control measures provided in Parts 10 and 11 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link).

Risk assessments

If asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are identified in a workplace, the person in control of the workplace must ensure the risks are assessed:

• in consultation with workers and/or their representatives
• by someone competent to perform the assessment.

A risk assessment allows informed decisions to be made about control measures, induction and training, air monitoring and health surveillance requirements.

The risk assessment should take into consideration the information held in the register of ACM, including:

• the condition of the ACM (whether it is friable or bonded and stable, and whether it is liable to damage or deterioration)
• the likelihood of exposure
• whether the nature or location of any work to be done is likely to disturb the ACM.

The results of the risk assessment should be documented in the register of ACM.

More information is available in Part 10 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link).

Read more about risk assessments and the risk management process.

Control measures

Control measures are the ways that asbestos-related risks are managed, and should be identified and implemented as a result of risk assessments and as part of an over-arching asbestos management plan.

Part 11 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link) states what obligation holders, such as building owners, must do to manage asbestos-related risk, including:

• implementing the asbestos management plan
• controlling maintenance work
• not performing prohibited activities with asbestos
• performing maintenance and service work likely to disturb ACM as stated in the asbestos management code following safe work practices when working with asbestos.

For the complete requirements, see Part 11 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link).

Control measures should reflect the hierarchy of controls set out in Part 5 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link):

1. elimination/removal (most preferred)
2. isolation/enclosure/sealing
3. engineering controls
4. safe work practices (administrative controls)
5. personal protective equipment (PPE)

A combination of these may be required to adequately manage asbestos-containing materials (ACM).

Control measures should also reflect the principles set out in Part 11.1 of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link).