A plain-English walkthrough of the model Code of Practice: How to safely remove asbestos. This is a step up from awareness — it's about doing removal work legally and safely.
This guide distils the model Code of Practice: How to safely remove asbestos. A Code of Practice is approved under the WHS Act — following it helps you comply with the law, and courts can use it as evidence of what's reasonably practicable.
There's a companion Code — How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace — which covers identifying asbestos and deciding whether removal is even the right control. Often, if ACM is in good condition, the safest choice is to leave it undisturbed.
More than one person can hold a duty at the same time. The key duty holders:
Must eliminate the risk from asbestos removal — or minimise it so far as reasonably practicable. Must ensure airborne asbestos exposure is eliminated/minimised and the exposure standard is not exceeded. Must consult workers.
Must exercise due diligence — ensure the business has and uses the right resources and processes to control the risk.
Take reasonable care for their own and others' safety, follow reasonable instructions, and cooperate with policies and procedures.
Visitors and neighbours take reasonable care and follow reasonable instructions.
The licence you need depends on the type and amount of asbestos, ACM or asbestos-containing dust (ACD) being removed.
Any amount of any asbestos — including friable asbestos/ACM, any ACD, and any non-friable ACM. The only licence that can remove friable asbestos.
Any amount of non-friable asbestos/ACM, plus the ACD associated with removing it. Cannot remove friable asbestos.
Up to 10 m² of non-friable asbestos/ACM, and only minor associated ACD. Still must follow the controls in this Code.
Note: some jurisdictions vary — e.g. in the ACT the 10 m² concession is applied differently. Always check your regulator's rules.
The PCBU must provide health monitoring to workers at risk of asbestos exposure — whether doing licensed removal, ongoing unlicensed removal, or other asbestos-related work.
Before a single sheet comes off, licensed removal work has a clear set-up checklist:
Identifies the specific control measures and how the work will be done safely. Keep it readily accessible on site for the whole job; keep it 2 years if a notifiable incident occurs.
Includes the removalist & supervisor details, assessor, client, address, dates, whether it's friable or non-friable, quantity, and worker competencies. In a genuine emergency (e.g. burst asbestos-lagged pipe) work can start immediately — notify by phone, then in writing within 24 hours.
The whole game is keeping fibres out of the air. Two golden rules and a short list of tool do's and don'ts:
Wherever reasonably practicable, keep the material wet (fine water spray) to stop fibres becoming airborne. Dry removal is a last resort with extra controls.
Don't use anything that grinds material into airborne dust — no power sanders/grinders, no compressed air, no high-pressure water blasting.
Disposable coveralls (type 5, category 3), one size too big to stop seams ripping, with the hood over the RPE straps and no cuffs that trap dust. Plus gloves and suitable footwear.
Must be correctly selected for the job and fit tested. You must be clean-shaven for a tight-fitting respirator to seal. Half-face (P1/P2), powered, or full-face depending on the risk.
Nothing contaminated leaves the area without being cleaned. The PCBU must provide facilities to decontaminate the work area, plant, workers and associated people.
Air monitoring measures airborne fibres — either control monitoring (are the controls working?) or exposure monitoring (a worker's breathing zone). It uses the membrane filter method.
The area cannot be re-occupied until a clearance certificate is issued. It confirms the area (and the space around it) is free of visible asbestos contamination.
Friable asbestos is the highest-risk work — Class A only, with the strongest controls.
Build and smoke-test a sealed enclosure kept under negative pressure with HEPA-filtered exhaust units, so air flows in, not out. Bulk-strip and clean inside; only dismantle after clearance monitoring passes.
Mini-enclosure (a small sealed booth), glove bag (a sealed bag you work through, e.g. on pipe lagging), and wrap-and-cut (wrap the item, then cut and remove it intact).
The Code also covers specific jobs: asbestos-contaminated soil, friable asbestos on hot surfaces, and asbestos in plant, pipes and pits.
Try the free practice test any time — and when you're confident, register your assessment with the trainer.
📝 Try the practice test → ← Awareness guideAdapted from the Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: How to safely remove asbestos (July 2020), used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 licence. This is a study summary — for legal purposes always refer to the full Code and your jurisdiction's WHS laws (in the ACT, WorkSafe ACT).