Renovating, Demolishing or Selling with Asbestos in Canberra

A business that is going to refurbish or demolish a home must first identify the asbestos likely to be disturbed and, so far as reasonably practicable, have it removed before the work starts. WorkSafe ACT says plainly: "It is not the responsibility of the homeowner".

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What asbestos before renovating or selling in Canberra actually involves

An application for building approval must include an asbestos removal control plan where the building is a class 1, 2, 3 or 4 building (or an associated class 10 building) erected before 1985, plus a copy of any asbestos assessment report. Certifiers are told not to issue approval without the plan.

Selling a home

A contract for the sale of a home must include a copy of each current asbestos assessment report, or, where there is none or the seller cannot obtain it, an asbestos advice. The current advice covers homes built in or before 1990.

A person in white coveralls, hood and half-face respirator seen from behind, holding a blank clipboard and looking at a painted wall in an empty room, dust sheets on the floor — asbestos removal before renovation or selling, Canberra. Illustrative example.

Renting out a home

Before a tenancy begins, the lessor must give the tenant the asbestos assessment report for the home, or, where there is none or it cannot be obtained, an asbestos advice. The assessment page covers who may produce the report.

The business carrying out the refurbishment or demolition is responsible for having the asbestos found and removed first, not the homeowner, in WorkSafe ACT's own words.

Asbestos removal costs and rules check