If your building was constructed before 31 December 2003, the law assumes it contains asbestos until you can prove otherwise. That single date is the starting point for one of the most consistently under-managed compliance obligations building owners and facilities managers carry.

Asbestos was used in thousands of products for most of the 20th century, valued for its resistance to heat, fire and electricity. There was 2 widely used commercial fibrous minerals groups for building materials, these are: Serpentine & Amphibole. The serpentine group, chrysotile or "white asbestos," has curly, silky, flexible fibres and made up roughly 95% of the asbestos used in Australian buildings before it was banned in December 2003. The amphibole group includes amosite/asbestos grunerite  ("brown") and crocidolite ("blue"), these fibre types are straight, brittle, needle-like fibres; these were phased out from the mid-1980s. In practice, both groups still turn up regularly in pipe insulation, cement sheeting and sprayed insulation in buildings.

Who's responsible, and what it actually involves

Under work health and safety law, a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers and others aren't exposed to asbestos-related risks. That obligation isn't satisfied by a general awareness that asbestos might be present. It requires, but is not limited to:

• Keeping an up-to-date asbestos register
• Maintaining an asbestos management plan
• Arranging safe removal when required, using a licensed asbestos removalist
• Training any worker who might come into contact with asbestos during their work

The register and management plan requirement applies to any workplace in a building constructed before 31 December 2003, even if no asbestos has ever been identified on site. "No asbestos found" still needs to be documented, not assumed. Everyone conducting work at the site is required to have read, understood and acknowledged that register before starting any works.

Knowing who to call

Not every situation calls for the same level of expertise, and getting this wrong is a common source of delay and risk. If a material is identified on site that might contain asbestos, the default response should be to stop work, treat it as asbestos-containing, restrict access, and bring in an Independent Competent Person (ICP) to inspect, sample and advise. That's a different role from a Licensed Asbestos Assessor (LAA), who becomes necessary once removal is planned. An LAA is always required for friable (Class A) work, and should be, at minimum considered for non-friable (Class B) work as well.

It's also worth knowing what NATA accreditation actually covers, prior to the engagement of a consultant. Genuine accreditations (ISO 17025 and 17020) span inspections, sampling, equipment, results analysis and reporting. Some providers can offer accredited laboratory analysis results only, which matters if the outcome needs to stand up to scrutiny.

The bottom line

The safest operating assumption with any suspect material is that it does contain asbestos until testing proves otherwise, not the reverse. Getting the register right, engaging the correct type of professional at the correct stage, and using licensed, experienced removalists isn't just about avoiding penalties. It's what keeps the people working in and around these buildings safe, and it's considerably cheaper than the alternative: a poorly managed find that turns into an uncontrolled clean-up, a shut-down site, or worse.

Michael Taranto is Managing Director and Peter Shades is Senior Consultant at QED. This article is based on QED's presentation to the AESC Know Your Risk Webinar Series, July 2026.