Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. If your workplace is in a building constructed before 31 December 2003, you are required to have an asbestos register prepared and kept on site. This obligation exists under the Work Health and Safety Regulations, and under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 in Victoria. Queensland applies an earlier cut-off date, requiring a register for buildings constructed before 1 January 1990.

This applies to any Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) who has management or control of the workplace. Even if no asbestos is found during the inspection, a register must still be prepared stating that fact.

A PCBU, or Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, is the term used under Australian WHS legislation to describe the broadest possible range of duty holders. It goes well beyond the traditional notion of a business owner or employer. A PCBU can be a corporation, a sole trader, a partnership, a government department, a local council, a school authority, a non-profit organisation, or a volunteer organisation that engages workers. If an entity operates a workplace and has people working within it, whether as employees, contractors, or labour hire workers, it is almost certainly a PCBU and carries the associated legal obligations. In Victoria, the equivalent duty holder is defined in broadly similar terms under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.

In practical terms, a PCBU could be:

• Commercial property owner or landlord leasing premises to tenants
• Commercial property agent
• Facilities manager overseeing a portfolio of buildings
• Local council responsible for public infrastructure and offices
• School principal or education authority
• Hospital or aged care facility operator
• Mining or construction company

The concept was deliberately drafted to be inclusive, ensuring that no organisation could avoid its health and safety obligations simply because it did not fit the traditional definition of a business.

What asbestos obligations does a PCBU have?

Under the Work Health and Safety Regulations and Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, a PCBU who has management or control of a workplace has a duty to identify and manage asbestos and asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) at that workplace. This duty is not passive. It requires active steps, and it applies regardless of whether the PCBU owns the building or merely occupies it as a tenant.

Where a workplace is in a building constructed before 31 December 2003 (or before 1 January 1990 in Queensland), the PCBU must ensure that an asbestos identification process is carried out by a competent person, and that the findings are recorded in an asbestos register. If asbestos or ACMs are identified, an asbestos management plan must also be developed, kept at the workplace, and reviewed regularly. Both documents must be accessible to workers, contractors, and emergency services at all times.

The obligations extend beyond documentation. A PCBU must also ensure that workers who may encounter asbestos in the course of their work are informed of its presence and location, that control measures are in place to prevent disturbance, and that any asbestos removal work is carried out by appropriately licensed contractors. Where asbestos is removed, the register and management plan must be updated to reflect the change.

It is important to note that where there is more than one PCBU with duties in relation to the same workplace, for example, a building owner and a tenant, each PCBU retains their own obligations and must consult and cooperate with the other to ensure those obligations are met.

Your asbestos register and management plan must be reviewed at least every five years. However, a review is also required sooner if:

• Any time there is a change to the asbestos (removed, disturbed, sealed or enclosed)
• Changes are made to control measures
• The asbestos register or asbestos management plan is no longer adequate
• A health and safety representative requests a review

The asbestos register will indicate a review timeline for each asbestos extent. As different types of asbestos materials and their locations are subject to varying environmental factors, each asbestos extent is assessed individually for review.

Buildings constructed after 31 December 2003 are generally not required to have an asbestos register under the Work Health and Safety Regulations (or the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 in Victoria), since the importation, supply, and installation of asbestos-containing materials was banned in Australia from that date. In a straightforward new-build with no imported plant or equipment, that position is reasonable.

However, both the WHS and OHS Regulations recognise that asbestos can be introduced into a workplace at any time, and this is one of the most commonly overlooked asbestos hazards in Australian workplaces today. Our assessors have identified asbestos-containing materials in approximately one hundred newly constructed commercial premises, not from the building fabric, but from imported plant and machinery. Generators, lathes, compressors, and similar equipment manufactured overseas frequently contain asbestos in gaskets, rope seals, and friction materials such as brake pads and brake bands.

If your workplace contains imported plant or equipment, an asbestos inspection is strongly advisable regardless of when your building was constructed. Global Asbestos Audits can assess both the building fabric and any on-site machinery, giving you a register that reflects the full scope of asbestos risk at your workplace.

Workplace health and safety regulators across every state and territory in Australia conduct routine asbestos compliance inspections, and the consequences of non-compliance are serious.

At the lower end, a business can expect improvement notices requiring corrective action within a set timeframe. More serious breaches can result in prohibition notices that shut down a worksite or business operations immediately until compliance is achieved. Financial penalties under Australian WHS and OHS legislation are substantial, tiered by the seriousness of the breach, and have increased significantly following legislative reforms that took effect from 1 July 2024. Penalties vary by state and territory and are indexed annually, with the most serious corporate breaches attracting penalties running into the millions of dollars. For the specific penalty amounts applicable in your jurisdiction, refer to your relevant state or territory regulator.

Beyond the regulatory consequences, the civil liability exposure in the event of a worker being diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease is potentially far greater than any fine. Business owners and directors can face personal liability in serious cases.

Residential properties used purely as private dwellings are generally not required to have a formal asbestos register under WHS legislation or Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017. However, a residential property can become a workplace in two common situations, which significantly change the obligations.

The first is where a business is operated from the property, or workers are regularly present. The second is where contractors are engaged to carry out renovation, extension, or demolition work, at which point the property effectively becomes their workplace. In both cases, the relevant WHS or OHS obligations can be triggered, including the requirement to identify asbestos before any work commences. For building works specifically, this means a refurbishment or demolition inspection equivalent to a Division 6 asbestos audit should be carried out before tradespeople begin work on any pre-2004 home.

Homeowners who proceed without arranging an inspection are not only putting workers at risk, but may also expose themselves to personal liability if a worker is harmed as a result.

A licensed asbestos assessor (LAA) conducts a thorough visual inspection of your entire site, identifying any materials that may contain asbestos. Where safe and practical to do so, suspect materials are sampled and sent to a NATA-accredited laboratory for analysis using polarised light microscopy (PLM). In situations where sampling is not practical or a material is known to be asbestos-containing, the assessor must record it as presumed asbestos, which carries the same management obligations as a confirmed positive result.

Each identified or presumed material is assessed for its condition, accessibility, and likelihood of disturbance, and assigned a risk rating that determines the appropriate management action. At Global Asbestos Audits, we use our FMS1 reporting system to document all findings, including photographs, precise locations, condition assessments, and colour-coded priority ratings, so that the relative urgency of each item is immediately clear without requiring interpretation of technical language.

The final deliverable is a detailed asbestos register accompanied by an asbestos management plan and a prioritised action plan tailored to your site.

Inspection time depends on the size and complexity of the site. A small commercial premises may take between 1-2 hours, while a large industrial facility or multi-building campus can take a full day or more. Laboratory analysis typically adds 3 to 5 business days to the process, though expedited turnaround options are available for clients with tight construction or settlement deadlines.

Our FMS1 reporting system ensures your report is produced efficiently and undergoes a thorough quality-check process before release, so you receive an accurate, professional document without unnecessary delays.

The terms Division 5 and Division 6 originate from Part 4.4 of Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, where they define two distinct types of asbestos inspection. In WHS states and territories, the equivalent obligations are set out in Parts 8.3 and 8.6 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations, respectively. Because the WHS Regulations contain no equivalent plain-language shorthand, Division 5 and Division 6 have become widely adopted as industry terminology across all Australian jurisdictions.

A Division 5 inspection is a visual inspection of a building that is occupied and in normal use. It covers accessible areas and materials likely to be disturbed during routine activities, and produces the asbestos register and asbestos management plan that PCBUs are legally required to maintain.

A Division 6 inspection is an intrusive inspection and is a legal requirement before any renovation, refurbishment, or demolition work commences. It goes beyond what is visible and accessible under normal conditions, and may involve destructive investigation of walls, floors, ceilings, and other building elements that would not be disturbed during normal use. Where materials cannot be sampled or accessed, they must be recorded as presumed asbestos and managed accordingly. The completed Division 6 inspection must be provided to the demolition or refurbishment contractor before any works begin.

For a standard Division 5 visual inspection, vacating is not usually required as assessors work around normal business operations wherever possible. A Division 6 intrusive inspection may require certain areas to be unoccupied given the more invasive nature of the investigation. Site access requirements will be discussed with you during the quoting stage to ensure minimal disruption to your operations.

Asbestos documentation must be kept for a minimum of 30 years under the WHS Regulations and Victoria’s OHS Regulations 2017. It is important to note that certain records, particularly health monitoring records for workers who have carried out asbestos removal work, may be subject to longer retention periods. If you are unsure of the specific requirements that apply to your situation, contact your relevant state or territory regulator.

The asbestos register itself does not have a fixed expiry date, but it is not a set-and-forget document. It must be actively maintained and updated whenever changes occur on site, including removal, encapsulation, or disturbance of any identified asbestos-containing materials. For information on how often the register must be formally reviewed, see the question above: How often does an asbestos register need to be reviewed?

Global Asbestos Audits operates across Australia from offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth, including rural and remote areas, and has international experience in New Zealand, Singapore, PNG, and Vietnam.

For organisations managing large or dispersed property portfolios, we offer multi-site summary reports that allow facility managers, councils, and property owners to assess asbestos risk across all locations at a glance. Our colour-coded priority system makes it easy to identify which sites require urgent action without needing to read through each individual report, giving decision-makers a clear and immediate picture of where their compliance obligations are most pressing.

The cost of an asbestos audit varies depending on the size and type of building, the number of suspect materials requiring sampling, and your location. We encourage you to contact us for a free, no-obligation quote — we aim to provide transparent, competitive pricing with no hidden fees.

Laboratory testing of samples is not included in the base audit price, as the number of samples required can only be determined once the assessor is on site. As a general guide, we suggest clients allow for between two and five samples per structure, however this can vary significantly depending on the materials identified during the inspection, and in some cases no sampling may be required at all.

Sample costs are calculated and invoiced upon completion of the inspection. For clients who wish to manage their budget closely, we are happy to advise on the number of samples collected before sending them to the laboratory for analysis, allowing you to approve the testing before costs are finalised.

All samples are analysed by a NATA-accredited laboratory using polarised light microscopy (PLM) and dispersion staining, ensuring accurate and reliable results.

Yes. A Division 6 intrusive inspection is typically more expensive than a Division 5 visual inspection because it is more time-intensive and involves access to enclosed spaces, areas above ceilings, within wall cavities, and other building elements that would not be disturbed during normal use. In some cases, minor destructive investigation is required, and certain areas must be unoccupied during the inspection.

The specific cost will be assessed based on your site and the scope of planned works. A detailed written quote is provided before any work begins.

Asbestos removal costs vary significantly based on the quantity and type of material, whether it is friable or non-friable, its accessibility, and disposal requirements. These factors can only be properly assessed once an inspection has been completed and the full scope of works is understood.

Global Asbestos Audits project-manages the entire removal process from the scope of works through to the final clearance certificate, coordinating licensed Class A or Class B removalists as required. Where friable asbestos is being removed, we also provide the mandatory air monitoring and occupational hygiene oversight throughout the removal works, meaning you have a single point of contact managing the process from start to finish.

Contact our team for a removal quote, and we will assess your requirements based on the findings of your asbestos inspection.

Asbestos fibres, when disturbed, can become airborne and be inhaled. There is no known safe level of asbestos exposure, which is why even minor or seemingly low-risk disturbance must be professionally managed. Long-term or intense exposure can cause serious and potentially fatal diseases including:

• Mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen
• Asbestosis – scarring of lung tissue that progressively reduces lung function
• Lung cancer
• Pleural disease – including pleural plaques and thickening, which can occur even in lower exposure cases and may affect breathing over time

These diseases typically have a long latency period, with symptoms often not appearing for 20 to 50 years after exposure. This is why professional identification, management, and controlled removal of asbestos is critical, even where a workplace or property appears low-risk on the surface.

Asbestos was used in more than 3,000 building products in Australia. Common sources include:

• Fibrous cement sheeting, including walls, ceilings, roofing, and eaves
• Low Density Board (LDB), frequently misidentified due to its similarity to plasterboard
• Vinyl floor tiles and their adhesives
• Pipe lagging and insulation
• Stormwater pipes
• Electrical switchboard components
• Gaskets and rope seals – also commonly found in imported plant and machinery
• Sprayed Vermiculite & limpet insulation
• Roofing

Buildings constructed between the 1950s and the late 1980s are most likely to contain asbestos, though it can be found in buildings constructed up to 2003.

Friability comes down to the material’s makeup, known as its matrix, and the condition it’s in. Varying degrees of toughness and ultimately binding ability determine bonded and friable asbestos classification.

Bonded asbestos

Bonded asbestos is non-friable, meaning fibres aren’t easily released from the material. Asbestos fibres are well bound within a matrix such as cement or glue. Common examples include fibrous cement sheeting, vinyl floor tiles, and roofing materials. In good condition, bonded asbestos presents a lower risk because the fibres remain locked in place and are not readily released into the air.

However, poorly managed bonded asbestos materials can become friable. Damage, weathering, drilling, cutting, sanding, or general deterioration of the matrix can break down the bond and release fibres, effectively creating localised friable material even though the product was originally classified as non-friable. Asbestos cement sheeting is a good example of this. A sheet that is cracked, has been power washed, or has been drilled or cut without proper controls can shed fibres in the affected area, regardless of its original bonded classification. This is why the condition and handling of bonded materials matters just as much as their classification.

Friable asbestos

Friable asbestos materials can easily release asbestos fibres into the atmosphere as they are made from a soft matrix that can be easily crumbled or pulverised by hand pressure alone. Friable materials include pipe lagging, thermal and acoustic insulation, sprayed limpet coatings, and low-density board (LDB) products. Because the fibres are not held within a stable matrix, friable asbestos poses a significantly higher risk of airborne fibre release, even from minor disturbance such as vibration, airflow, or light contact. It requires a much higher level of control and is treated as the highest risk category under Australian WHS and OHS legislation.

Removal requirements

Removal requirements differ accordingly. Friable asbestos must only be removed by a licensed Class A removalist, and air monitoring is required throughout the works. Non-friable asbestos can be removed by a licensed Class B removalist, though a Class A licence also covers non-friable work. In limited circumstances, a home occupier may remove small quantities of non-friable asbestos from their own property without a licence, subject to strict conditions and quantity limits set by their state or territory regulator.

A clearance certificate is issued following an inspection carried out after asbestos removal work is completed and confirms that the area has been assessed as safe for re-occupation. Under the WHS Regulations and Victoria’s OHS Regulations 2017, clearance requirements differ depending on the class of removal work carried out.

Class A friable asbestos removal

For Class A removal work involving friable asbestos, a clearance inspection must be conducted by a Licensed Asbestos Assessor who is independent of the removalist. Air monitoring is a mandatory part of the clearance process for friable removal, and the licensed asbestos assessor issues both the air monitoring results and the clearance certificate. The area cannot be re-occupied until a satisfactory clearance certificate has been issued.

Class B non-friable asbestos removal

For Class B removal work involving non-friable asbestos, a clearance inspection is also required before the area can be re-occupied. This inspection must be conducted by an independent competent person, and cannot be carried out by the licensed removalist who performed the removal work. This independence requirement removes any conflict of interest and provides the property owner or PCBU with objective assurance that the area has been assessed as safe.

Global Asbestos Audits provides independent clearance inspections, air monitoring, and clearance certificates for both Class A and Class B removal projects across Australia, whether we have project-managed the removal ourselves or another contractor has undertaken it.

Asbestos air monitoring is the collection and analysis of air samples to measure airborne asbestos fibre concentrations, verifying that fibre levels are within acceptable limits and that control measures are working as intended. It is a core occupational hygiene service and is not limited to asbestos removal work. Several forms of air monitoring exist, each serving a different purpose.

Background air monitoring is conducted before removal or disturbance works commence, to establish a baseline of the airborne fibre concentration in and around the area. This baseline provides a reference point against which later monitoring results can be compared and can be important for identifying pre-existing contamination unrelated to the works being carried out.

Control air monitoring is conducted during removal or disturbance works to confirm that the control measures in place, such as enclosures, negative air pressure systems, and wet methods, are effectively containing airborne fibres and preventing spread beyond the work area. Control monitoring provides ongoing verification that the site is being managed safely while the works are underway.

Personal or exposure air monitoring measures the concentration of airborne asbestos fibres in the breathing zone of individual workers carrying out the work. This form of monitoring is used to assess actual worker exposure and to confirm that respiratory protective equipment and other controls are adequate for the task being performed.

Clearance air monitoring is conducted at the completion of Class A friable asbestos removal work and forms part of the clearance inspection process. It must return a satisfactory result before the area can be re-occupied.

Air monitoring is legally required during Class A friable asbestos removal work and in certain other high-risk scenarios under the WHS Regulations and Victoria’s OHS Regulations 2017. It is also strongly recommended for many non-friable removal projects, disturbance works, and situations of uncertainty about existing contamination.

Global Asbestos Audits provides all forms of asbestos air monitoring using calibrated equipment and NATA-accredited laboratory analysis, either as a standalone occupational hygiene service or as part of a project-managed removal.

Yes. In addition to our asbestos services, Global Asbestos Audits provides respirable crystalline silica air monitoring.

Silica dust is one of the most significant occupational health hazards in Australia, particularly in construction, mining, tunnelling, and stone processing. Regulation has tightened considerably in recent years, with a national ban on engineered stone taking effect from 1 July 2024 and stricter requirements for work involving crystalline silica substances commencing across most jurisdictions, including mandatory risk assessments and silica risk control plans for high-risk work.

Air monitoring helps assess whether your control measures are effective and whether worker exposure remains below the workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica, providing the documented evidence needed to demonstrate compliance.

We work across a broad range of sectors including:

• Commercial and industrial properties
• Councils, local government, and government facilities
• Hospitals, health care, and aged care facilities
• Mining operations
• Construction, demolition, and refurbishment projects
• Military and defence sites
• Marine and shipbuilding
• Airports and transport infrastructure
• Indigenous communities, including remote locations
• Rural and agricultural properties
• Retail and hospitality
• Schools and education

Our Licensed Asbestos Assessors have experience with the unique asbestos challenges present in each of these environments, from live operational sites through to remote and difficult-access locations. We also manage multi-site portfolios for property managers, councils, and national companies, with clients ranging from small businesses through to major government research organisations and national retail chains.

Global Asbestos Audits operates exclusively in hazardous materials consulting, and everything about how we work is built around doing this one thing exceptionally well.

Our proprietary FMS1 reporting system was developed in-house specifically for asbestos and hazardous materials management. Every report includes colour-coded priority ratings, five photographs per identified item, and a site-specific management plan. Nothing we produce is a generic template. Because the system is ours, ongoing changes at your site, such as removal works or new findings, are updated directly into your register and management plan rather than requiring a new report from scratch.

We are also one of the few providers who can manage the entire lifecycle of an asbestos issue. Our Licensed Asbestos Assessors conduct the inspection, prepare the register and management plan, project-manage licensed Class A and Class B removalists where remediation is required, conduct air monitoring throughout removal works, and issue the final clearance certificate. One point of contact from identification through to resolution.

Our field experience is genuinely difficult to match. Our assessors have inspected everything from capital city office towers to remote stations, mine sites, marine vessels, military facilities, and Indigenous communities, and we service every state and territory in Australia along with regular work in New Zealand and international experience across Singapore, PNG, and Vietnam. That experience includes identifying asbestos in around one hundred newly constructed commercial premises through imported plant and equipment, the kind of finding that only comes from assessors who know exactly where to look.

We are an award-winning firm recognised by the APAC Australian Enterprise Awards, Small Business Awards 2023, and BUILD Facilities Management Awards 2023, with a client base that spans local councils, CSIRO, major retail chains, airports, and mining operations. Our team brings over 60 years of combined experience in occupational health, safety, and asbestos management to every engagement.