Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025
451Determining presence of asbestos or ACM
Start here
Get a plain-English read of 451
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025.
451 Determining presence of asbestos or ACM
451 Determining presence of asbestos or ACM
(1) This section applies if—
(a) demolition or refurbishment is to be carried out at a workplace, and
(b) there is no asbestos register for the structure or plant to be demolished or refurbished at the workplace.
(2) The person conducting a business or undertaking who is to carry out the demolition or refurbishment must not carry out the demolition or refurbishment until the structure or plant has been inspected to determine whether asbestos or ACM is fixed to or installed in the structure or plant.
Maximum penalty—
(a) for an individual—73 penalty units, or
(b) for a body corporate—364 penalty units.
(3) The person conducting a business or undertaking who is to carry out the demolition or refurbishment must ensure that the determination is undertaken by a competent person.
Maximum penalty—
(a) for an individual—73 penalty units, or
(b) for a body corporate—364 penalty units.
(4) The person conducting a business or undertaking who is to carry out the demolition or refurbishment must assume that asbestos or ACM is fixed to or installed in the structure or plant if—
(a) the competent person is, on reasonable grounds, uncertain whether or not asbestos is fixed to or installed in the structure or plant, or
(b) part of the structure or plant is inaccessible and likely to be disturbed.
(5) If asbestos or ACM is determined or assumed to be fixed to or installed in the structure or plant, the person conducting a business or undertaking who is to carry out the demolition or refurbishment must inform—
(a) if the workplace is residential premises—
(i) the occupier of the premises, and
(ii) the owner of the premises, and
(b) otherwise—the person with management or control of the workplace.
Maximum penalty—
(a) for an individual—43 penalty units, or