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- The national asbestos agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, though in Victoria the Better Health Channel says householders may legally remove it from their own property, and recommends that only a licensed professional removes loosely bound material. The national agency adds that a licensed asbestos removalist is the safer choice.
- WorkSafe Victoria says exposure to every type of airborne asbestos fibre is hazardous to human health.
- Asbestos fibres are most likely to be released when asbestos material is disturbed, for example by drilling, cutting, sawing or breaking it. Victorian guidance warns against power tools, abrasive cutting or sanding discs, compressed air, high-pressure water jets, dry-sanding, wire-brushing or scraping a surface before painting it, working with asbestos on a windy day, and cleaning up by dry sweeping or with a household vacuum cleaner. WorkSafe Victoria’s flood-recovery advice adds that when you clean asbestos material that is still in place and not damaged, you should avoid high-pressure washers or water blasters, which can damage it and spread asbestos debris and fibres, and power tools or abrasive materials such as sanders. Better Health says never to saw, grind, drill or break asbestos with power tools, and to use hand tools if you must. The national agency adds that you should never clean asbestos with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding, because it can spread contamination widely.
- In Victoria, asbestos waste may go only to a site EPA Victoria has authorised to accept it, and EPA keeps the list of landfills licensed for asbestos waste. It must never go in a general, recycling or green waste bin.
1–6 The six fields
Asbestos work in Victoria leaves a trail of paper: a licence, a notice to WorkSafe, a waste record, a clearance certificate. Each guide below fills in one field of that form. Start with the one that matches the question in front of you.
- 1Licence class
Class A, Class B, and the limited work that needs no licence.
- 2Waste and transport
Where Victorian asbestos waste may go, and the Waste Tracker record.
- 3Doing it yourself
What Victoria says about your own home, and the packaging steps in full.
- 4Clearance
The visual inspection, air monitoring and the certificate that ends a job.
- 5Notice
When WorkSafe must hear about a job, and who nearby is told.
- 6Older homes
What tenants, owners and buyers of older Victorian homes can find out.
A Your home, or someone’s workplace
Victoria’s asbestos rules sit in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, and they turn on one question: is the place a workplace? WorkSafe Victoria’s 2019 compliance code says that when people remove asbestos from their own home, those Regulations do not apply, because a home is not treated as a workplace. The code recommends following it anyway.
The moment a licensed removalist, an employer or a self-employed person is engaged to remove asbestos at a home, the code says the home becomes that person’s workplace, and the removal duties in the Regulations apply for as long as the work lasts. That is why most of these guides describe what a licensed removalist must do, and what you can expect to see and receive.
B Who does what in Victoria
- WorkSafe Victoria authorises licensed asbestos removalists and must be notified by them when they remove asbestos. WorkSafe keeps a service providers directory listing licensed asbestos removalists.
- EPA Victoria regulates the transport of asbestos waste and keeps a register of the landfills in Victoria that can legally accept it.
- Asbestos in Victoria is a website carrying guidance from WorkSafe, EPA and the state health department for homeowners, tenants, employers and workers, with a tool for finding and identifying asbestos at home or work.
- The Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency sets Victoria’s long-term strategy for removing asbestos from government-owned buildings, and sits under WorkSafe Victoria. WorkSafe says the agency is building a register of asbestos in Victorian government buildings and advising on priorities for removal.
C Where to begin
WorkSafe Victoria says non-friable asbestos in good condition is less likely to give off airborne fibres unless something disturbs it. The questions start when something is about to disturb it: a renovation, storm damage, a wall in poor repair. If material is broken or weathered, or work is likely to damage it, the national agency’s advice is to get professional help to remove it.
A licensed asbestos removalist is the person to ask about the material in your own home, and the fields above explain what their work involves under Victorian law.