This is a concept website · Enquire about this domain

propertyrenovation.com.au
Guide 1 of 5

My house was built before 1990: could it have asbestos?

The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency, whose site is asbestossafety.gov.au, answers the year question in a single line: a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos. A 1970s bathroom sits inside that band, so this walkthrough takes that bathroom through the official steps before anything is cut.

A year line from 1900 to today. Lead paint: as a rule of thumb, Lead Alert says the lead content of paint was limited to 1 per cent by 1970, and SA Health puts homes built before the mid-1970s most at risk; asbestos products, phased out by 1990 and banned from 31 December 2003; loose-fill asbestos insulation, installed in some homes in the 1960s and 1970s. Four renovation jobs below, with a dot where an official source says the job disturbs lead paint or asbestos products. up to 50 per cent lead, homes built before 19501% by 1970, as a rule of thumbred-lead primer into the 1970sLead paintSA Health: mid-1970s Asbestos productsphased out by 1990asbestossafety.gov.au: homes built or renovated before 1990 might contain it Loose-fill: the 1960s and 1970s banned from 31 December 2003 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020 today What the job disturbsLead paintAsbestos productsSandingLead Alert: dry sanding releases lead-rich dust into the homeQueensland: do not saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materialsDrillingasbestossafety.gov.au: hand tools only, dust captured, for a small hole in asbestos-cement sheetCutting sheetingasbestossafety.gov.au: hand tools only, dust captured, for a small hole in asbestos-cement sheetDemolishingSA Health: renovating, like removing walls, can mobilise lead paint dustasbestossafety.gov.au: asbestos can be disturbed during renovation or demolition
Open the year line, newest decade first
  1. TodayNewest at the top: scroll to your home's decade
  2. 2020s
  3. 2010s
  4. 2000sAsbestos banned from 31 December 2003
  5. 1990s
  6. 1980sAsbestos products phased out by 1990
  7. 1970sLead content limited to 1 per cent by 1970; SA Health: mid-1970s
  8. 1960sLoose-fill asbestos in some homes, 1960s and 1970s
  9. 1950s
  10. 1940sPaint up to 50 per cent lead before 1950
  11. 1930s
  12. 1920s
  13. 1910s
  14. 1900s
  • Lead paint: as a rule of thumb, Lead Alert says paint’s lead content was limited to 1 per cent by 1970, and SA Health puts homes built before the mid-1970s most at risk.
  • Asbestos products: phased out by 1990; a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain it.
  • Hard stop: banned across Australia since December 2003; the national ban took effect on 31 December 2003.
  • Loose-fill asbestos: installed in some homes in the 1960s and 1970s; NSW asks anyone working on or in a pre-1980 home to check for it before starting or quoting work.

What the job disturbs

  • Sanding: Lead Alert says dry sanding releases lead-rich dust into the home; Queensland says not to saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials.
  • Drilling: for a small hole in asbestos-cement sheet, the national agency allows hand tools only, with the dust caught at its source and protective equipment worn.
  • Cutting sheeting: asbestossafety.gov.au allows only hand tools to cut a small hole in an asbestos-cement sheet, with the dust captured at its source and protective equipment worn.
  • Demolishing: SA Health names removing walls for lead dust; asbestossafety.gov.au names renovation and demolition damage for asbestos.
  • Choose your home's decade: each year on the line is a link that lights its column.
  • A dot under a column means an official source names that job as disturbing that material.
  • Lead paint: as a rule of thumb, Lead Alert says the lead content of paint was limited to 1 per cent by 1970, but homes built after 1970 might still contain paint with more than 1 per cent lead.
  • SA Health puts homes built before the mid-1970s, particularly before 1940, most at risk of lead paint, and asks owners of a home built before 1980 to follow its six-step guide when renovating, restoring or repainting.
  • Calcium plumbate in imported metal roofing paints ran well into the 1980s, Lead Alert says.
  • asbestossafety.gov.au: products were phased out by 1990 and banned in 2003; a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos.
  • The 31 December 2003 ban took effect nationally, Safe Work Australia says.
  • Loose-fill asbestos went into some homes in the 1960s and 1970s; NSW keeps a register of homes that NSW Fair Trading has confirmed contain it.
  • Job dots rest on Lead Alert and SA Health for lead dust, Queensland's renovating page for sanding asbestos, and asbestossafety.gov.au for cutting, drilling and demolition.

What the year tells you

The year is a marker, not a verdict. The agency’s page for householders and renovators says a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos, and it does not claim that every older home does: the question is what went into the house, and much of what went in sits in the rooms a renovation opens up. SafeWork NSW puts its line at the late 1980s. A home or building from before the late 1980s may contain asbestos, it writes, and the materials were common in flooring, kitchens and bathrooms as well as roofs, ceilings and walls.

Where the year bites is in the materials. Cement sheet installed up until 1990 is likely to have asbestos bound into the cement, Safe Work Australia’s model code for workplaces says, so the sheeting a 1970s bathroom hides is treated as suspect until it is shown otherwise. The agency’s instruction is the one this walkthrough follows: know where asbestos could be in the home before any repair, improvement or renovation begins, and if any doubt remains, have the material tested, or treat it as if it is asbestos.

The far end of the line is a hard stop. Asbestos is completely banned in Australia, and has been since December 2003, asbestossafety.gov.au records, with goods checked at the border to enforce the ban; Safe Work Australia’s model code dates the national ban on all forms of asbestos to 31 December 2003. A ban stops new material, never old. The agency notes that asbestos is still present in millions of homes, and in commercial and public buildings.

Tradespeople are not the only ones caught. Tasmania’s work health and safety regulator describes an emerging “third wave” of asbestos-related disease, in people who never worked in the trade but were exposed during activities such as home renovations.

A 1970s bathroom, step by step

  1. The year first, then a look before any tool comes out. The agency’s advice to householders is to check whether asbestos is present before repairs, maintenance or improvements start, and its home guidance says to find out where asbestos could be before work begins, testing the material where there is doubt or treating it as asbestos. Where a business does the renovating, the agency’s workplace guidance puts that identification duty on the business, not on the homeowner: the asbestos likely to be disturbed must be identified, and removed safely, before work starts.
  2. Find out what the wall and floor sheets are made of. The Queensland Government’s asbestos site is plain that “you can't tell if a building material contains asbestos just by looking at it”, and that a sample examined at a NATA accredited laboratory is how the answer is confirmed. The national agency describes the same step as an asbestos assessment, in which a professional identifies whether asbestos materials are present, where they are and what condition they are in.
  3. If the sheet is, or may be, asbestos, stop cutting it. The agency’s rule for material in good condition is to leave it undisturbed and undamaged; for material that is broken or weathered, or that the work is likely to disturb, its rule is to seek professional help to remove it. Queensland says much the same from the owner’s side: there is no need to remove asbestos if it is undamaged and undisturbed, and the safest option is to leave it alone. What makes disturbance matter is what it releases: SafeWork NSW writes that the fibres are harmful if inhaled and can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma.
  4. Who may do the work. For a major renovation where asbestos might be present, the agency’s advice is to engage a licensed asbestos removalist, and it adds that a tradesperson hired to work on the home must follow work health and safety laws, and that taking asbestos out may be beyond them unless they are licensed. The state and territory rules are broadly similar, the agency writes, but the differences matter, which is why checking your own state or territory is part of the work. New South Wales shows the shape of them: a home owner may legally remove non-friable asbestos from their own home without a licence there only where it covers under 10 square metres, and never friable asbestos, though the state recommends leaving it to licensed professionals, and its Environment Protection Authority says that a contractor you engage to remove any amount of friable asbestos from your home, or non-friable asbestos over 10 square metres, must hold a licence. The full comparison is in Who may remove asbestos, by state.
  5. How the waste leaves the house. Removed sheeting does not go in the bin: the agency’s step is a landfill licensed to accept asbestos waste, and Safe Work Australia’s demolition code adds that the transport and disposal must meet the requirements of your own state or territory environment protection authority.

What is never done to it

The national agency’s maintenance advice is written as refusals, and a renovation runs straight into them: never clean with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding, when it comes to an asbestos cement roof or any other asbestos material. Queensland’s asbestos site is just as direct: “Never use power tools (such as power saws, drills, sanders and angle grinders) or high pressure water blasters on asbestos materials.” Its renovating page says not to saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials.

Before the first cut

The official minimumAsbestossafety.gov.au, the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency’s site, is the floor under everything above: it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in some places the law goes further. In the Australian Capital Territory any removal needs a licensed removalist, unless it is part of minor routine maintenance or other minor work. In Queensland a home owner must be trained before taking out more than 10 square metres of non-friable material, and only a removalist holding a Class A licence may remove friable material. The agency’s advice is that a professional should do the job, which it says is often easier, safer and cheaper.

Two guides beside this one take the next questions. Loose-fill asbestos and the register picks up the register question, and Who may remove asbestos, by state compares the rules on who may take the material out.

Sources for this page

Open-licence credits: Source: safework.nsw.gov.au © State of New South Wales. Source: asbestos.qld.gov.au © State of Queensland.

Asbestos: the official minimum

  • The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says: “It is not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in some places the law goes further, as set out under Before the first cut.
  • For a major home renovation where asbestos might be present, the agency’s advice is to engage a licensed asbestos removalist.
  • Its fibres are dangerous to health once they are released into the air and breathed in, the agency says.

Never do these to asbestos material

  • “Saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials”: one of the things Queensland’s renovating page says not to do.
  • Clean it with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, such as scrubbing or sanding; the agency warns this can cause widespread contamination and an expensive clean-up.

All asbestos waste must go to a landfill site licensed to accept it, the agency says, and Safe Work Australia’s demolition code adds that it is moved and disposed of under your state or territory’s environment protection rules.

General information only; have a licensed assessor test before you cut.