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Guide 4 of 5

Who may remove asbestos from my home, state by state?

Safe Work Australia, which writes the national model rules, opens with a plain line: “You need a licence to remove asbestos.” It adds that in some states or territories, you may be able to remove asbestos without a licence in certain situations.

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.

The rule in the national model

The licences come from the model WHS Regulations. There are two removal licences: Class A, which can take any amount of asbestos, including friable asbestos, and Class B, for non-friable material. Which class a job needs comes down to the type and quantity of material being removed, and the business that commissions a removal has to make sure the removalist holds a licence that covers the work. In most circumstances, the national agency says, WHS laws require asbestos removal from workplaces to be done by a licensed removalist. The two classes are not interchangeable: friable material sits with Class A.

Western Australia carries the same two classes under its own names: unrestricted for Class A, and restricted for Class B. Beyond the model, Safe Work Australia's pointer is to check with the regulator where the removal is happening: “Asbestos licences are different across states and territories. Contact the WHS regulator in the state or territory where the asbestos removal is happening for more information.”

The eight jurisdictions compared

Home-owner thresholds, from each regulator’s own page
JurisdictionHome-owner thresholdRegulator page
New South Wales A home owner may legally remove non-friable asbestos from their own home without a licence only where it covers under 10 square metres, and never friable asbestos, which only a Class A licensed removalist may remove; NSW recommends leaving it to licensed professionals, and owners must follow the same strict precautions as professional removalists; a tradesperson needs no removalist licence to remove less than 10 square metres or 100 kilograms of non-friable asbestos, and the NSW EPA says a contractor you engage must be licensed to remove friable asbestos in any amount, or non-friable asbestos over 10 square metres, from your home. asbestos.nsw.gov.au: unlicensed asbestos removal
Victoria WorkSafe Victoria says most asbestos removal has to be done by a licensed removalist, and that in certain circumstances a licence is not needed to take out limited amounts of non-friable asbestos. In workplaces those circumstances include non-friable material of no more than 10 square metres, taking the employer or self-employed person no more than one hour in a 7 day period; where a home is not also a workplace, its guidance says Victoria’s OHS Act and Regulations do not apply, though home owners may have duties under other laws. WorkSafe Victoria: asbestos safety basics
Queensland Queensland's asbestos site says a home owner or owner-builder can take “10 square metres or less of non-friable (also known as bonded) asbestos without a certificate”, but must still take safety precautions. More than 10 square metres needs a certificate under section 8 (1) of the Public Health Regulation 2018, and the national agency's summary adds that home owners must take training to remove non-friable material above 10 square metres. Friable material has to go to a removalist who holds a Class A licence. asbestos.qld.gov.au: tips when home renovating
Western Australia WorkSafe WA says the amount decides who may take the asbestos out and who may dispose of it: a home owner may take out under 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos themselves, but must follow strict safety precautions and wear personal protective equipment, while any friable asbestos, and non-friable asbestos over 10 square metres, must be removed by a licensed removalist. WorkSafe WA: removing asbestos
South Australia South Australia's asbestos site says there is “no legal requirement for individual homeowners to have a licence to remove asbestos-containing material from their own property”, and that dealing with asbestos is the owner's responsibility. Even so, friable asbestos must go to a licensed asbestos removalist, a licensed removalist is also recommended for a large quantity of non-friable material, and builders and tradies need an asbestos removal licence to go past 10 square metres of non-friable material. EPA South Australia’s fact sheet, though, says that without a licence a person may remove no more than 10 square metres of non-friable material. asbestos.sa.gov.au: homeowners
Tasmania In Tasmania, an asbestos removal licence is not needed while the material is non-friable and the amount stays under 10 square metres, and the work has to follow the code of practice titled How to Safely Remove Asbestos. WorkSafe Tasmania: asbestos removal licensing
Australian Capital Territory Any removal from a home has to be done by a licensed asbestos removalist, a rule the territory added to the Dangerous Substances (General) Regulation 2004, and the only exception is work incidental to minor or routine maintenance, or other minor work, at the premises. WorkSafe ACT: asbestos
Northern Territory The Northern Territory sets no limit at all on the amount or type of asbestos a home owner may take out of their own house, though transport and disposal requirements still apply. The licence rule bites in workplaces: friable material of any amount, and non-friable material past the 10 square metre mark, both need a licence there, and a tradesperson may remove up to 10 square metres of non-friable without one. asbestos.nt.gov.au: FAQs for homeowners

One pattern sits under all the differences: the exemptions run on the material, not on the risk, and none of them clears away the safety precautions. The waste rules apply to whatever comes down, whoever took it down.

What the licence threshold does not cover

The material being removed is what older homes hide. The national agency's practical guidance says a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos, and its import rules note that asbestos has been banned outright in Australia since December 2003, so what a renovation disturbs is material already in the building.

An exemption from the licence is not an exemption from care. Safe Work Australia notes that even where no licence is needed, training in asbestos awareness and identification may be required, and South Australia's page tells home owners who do the work themselves to follow safe work procedures and take precautions so fibres do not get into the air, for the health of the family and neighbours. The national agency's advice for anyone who does take the work on is to plan the whole job first, from the equipment and the work area through to the clean-up and the disposal.

The waste is its own set of rules. The national agency says asbestos waste has to go to a landfill licensed to accept it, packaged and transported securely and taken there as soon as possible after the removal, and it warns that placing asbestos waste in a domestic bin can bring a fine. In New South Wales, a home owner who transports more than 100 kilograms or 10 square metres of their own asbestos waste reports the load to the state EPA within 24 hours of delivering it.

The stakes are why the rules sit where they sit. The national agency's own account of the danger is that the risk of disease is removed only by keeping away from airborne asbestos fibres, and no state threshold changes that.

What never to do, licence or not

Some acts are ruled out for whoever is doing the work. Queensland's asbestos site says not to saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials, and South Australia's guidance lists the methods it tells home owners not to use: “Do not use high-pressure water jets to wet surfaces as this may increase the spread of loose fibres or dust”, “Never water blast asbestos cement products”, and “Do not use power tools, abrasive cutting or sanding discs, or compressed air on asbestos cement as these will contribute to airborne dust and debris”.

The national agency's own maintenance guidance is just as direct: never clean asbestos cement roofing or any other asbestos material with high-pressure water or an abrasive process such as scrubbing or grinding. It gives the reason, too: it can spread contamination widely and leave an expensive clean-up.

The minimum, before any threshold

The official minimumThe Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency, which runs asbestossafety.gov.au, puts one line above every threshold: “It is not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in some places the law goes further, as the eight rows above set out. The agency’s fuller advice is to leave the work to a licensed removalist, which it says is easier, safer and often cheaper, and where material is broken or weathered, or the work is likely to disturb it, its counsel is to seek professional help to remove it.

Sources for this page

Open-licence credits: Source: safeworkaustralia.gov.au © Commonwealth of Australia. Source: asbestos.qld.gov.au © State of Queensland. Source: asbestos.sa.gov.au © Government of South Australia.

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 The eight jurisdictions compared sets out.
  • 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.