When it comes time to remove asbestos, there are a number of people, outside those living in your home, who need to be aware of the works happening.

Because asbestos is a rather dangerous material, it’s important to ensure that the tradespeople you engage to remove asbestos from your home, or your business, follow the correct procedures that Worksafe Queensland have in place.

We are often asked about who a homeowner or businessowner  needs to inform about removal of asbestos from their property, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to look at the requirements.

Notifying Worksafe Queensland

One of the parties that needs to be notified, before any work takes place, is Worksafe Queensland. Your licensed asbestos removalist needs to notify Worksafe Queensland of:

  • licensed asbestos removal work including any immediate asbestos removal work
  • if emergency demolition of a structure containing asbestos is required, and
  • asbestos fibre levels exceeding 0.02 fibres/ml

Intended Asbestos Removal at a Domestic Property

In a domestic property, your removalist must also tell the following people about the removal of asbestos and when the work will be commencing:

  • the person who commissioned the removal
  • anyone conducting a business at the site
  • the occupier of the domestic property
  • the owner of the domestic property
  • anyone occupying property in the immediate vicinity – this means your neighbours

Intended Asbestos Removal at a Commercial Property

When it comes to removing asbestos from a commercial property, the list of people who must be notified is similar:

  • anyone working or visiting the workplace
  • the person who commissioned the removal
  • anyone conducting business at or in the immediate vicinity of the workplace
  • anyone occupying premises in the immediate vicinity of the workplace

You can find more information about these requirements on the Worksafe Queensland website.

Whether the removal of the asbestos from your premises will take 2 hours or 2 weeks, the relevant people must be informed of the work that is happening. Asbestos can cause many issues from breathing in the smallest fibre, so keeping your family and neighbours safe is important.