TLDR:
- Asbestos non-compliance rarely stops at a single fine, it can trigger stop-work orders, unplanned remediation costs, legal claims, and reputational damage that outlasts the original penalty.
- Requirements differ across Australian states and territories, so understanding your obligations before work begins is far more cost-effective than managing a breach afterwards.
- Proactive asbestos risk management helps organisations identify and manage these risks before work begins, rather than after a costly breach.
“Asbestos compliance is often treated as a box to tick, but it exists to prevent real harm to real people. The businesses that plan for asbestos remediation before a project begins spend far less time and money managing it than those who discover a problem halfway through a job.”
— GBAR Group National Manager
For many businesses, asbestos compliance is viewed as just another regulatory requirement to work through before a project can proceed. In reality, failing to meet asbestos obligations can expose an organisation to financial, legal, operational, and reputational consequences well beyond the original scope of work. Asbestos remains one of Australia’s most heavily regulated workplace hazards. The health risks are well established, and there is no known safe minimum level of exposure.
Recent enforcement activity across Australian jurisdictions continues to show regulators acting on asbestos-related breaches, from unlicensed removal to poor waste record-keeping. This article looks at the penalties, delays, legal risks, and disruption that can follow non-compliance, and why proactive asbestos compliance is a sound investment rather than a regulatory burden.
Why asbestos compliance matters
Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are still commonly found in older commercial, industrial, educational, and residential buildings, particularly those built or renovated before the 1990s. Naturally occurring asbestos can also be present in certain soil and rock formations, relevant to civil works and land development. Disturbing ACMs without appropriate controls can expose workers, contractors, and the public to harmful airborne fibres.
In practice, asbestos compliance is not simply paperwork. It typically involves identifying asbestos risks, maintaining a register and management plan where required, controlling the risk of disturbance, using licensed removalists when necessary, and correctly managing asbestos waste. Duty holders, including employers, property managers, self-employed persons carrying out work, and anyone with management or control of a workplace, carry these obligations, and health and safety representatives have a role in raising concerns on behalf of workers.
In most Australian jurisdictions, an A Class asbestos removal licence is required to remove any amount of friable asbestos, as well as more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos. Smaller amounts of non-friable asbestos may be able to be removed without a licence, depending on the circumstances, but the work must still be carried out safely and in accordance with relevant requirements. Air monitoring, clearance inspections and clearance certificates must generally be completed by a suitably licensed asbestos assessor. Workers who may be exposed to asbestos must also receive appropriate asbestos awareness and task-specific training.
In Queensland, asbestos compliance is primarily governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, supported by approved Codes of Practice and guidance from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
In New South Wales, asbestos work is regulated under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, with SafeWork NSW providing guidance and Codes of Practice covering the management and removal of asbestos.
In the Australian Capital Territory, asbestos requirements are primarily governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, with additional requirements applying under the Dangerous Substances Act 2004 and associated regulations. The ACT has some requirements that differ from other jurisdictions, including requiring asbestos removal work to generally be carried out by a licensed asbestos removalist and requiring licensed asbestos assessors for asbestos identification, air monitoring and clearance inspections.
Requirements can differ between jurisdictions, particularly in relation to licensing, notifications, removal procedures, training, air monitoring and clearance requirements. Always confirm the current requirements that apply to your specific project with the relevant state or territory regulator, or seek advice from an appropriately experienced asbestos professional.
The financial cost: asbestos fines and penalties
Regulators across Australia can, and do, impose penalties for asbestos-related breaches, generally treated as serious offences under work health and safety law. Offences are categorised by seriousness, with reckless conduct exposing a person to risk of death or serious injury attracting the highest maximum penalties. These maximums are indexed over time and vary between jurisdictions, so a figure quoted for one state should never be assumed to apply elsewhere.
Actual court-imposed penalties often sit well below the statutory maximums. Queensland’s published prosecution summaries include cases involving unlicensed removal, uncontained asbestos waste, and prohibited methods such as high-pressure water or compressed air on asbestos-containing material. These unsafe removal methods result in fines ranging from a few thousand dollars for individuals to tens of thousands for companies, on top of remediation costs. Clean-up costs following unsafe work have, in some cases, exceeded $100,000, separate from any court fine.
Fines for illegal asbestos removal are often only the starting point. A business that commissions asbestos removal work also has a duty to ensure the contractor holds the appropriate licence, and using an unlicensed operator does not transfer that responsibility away. The remediation and legal costs that follow a breach are often considerably higher than the fine itself.
Project delays and operational disruption
Beyond regulatory penalties, asbestos-related breaches can bring a project to a standstill. Suspected or confirmed asbestos discovered during renovation, construction, or demolition can trigger a stop-work order, requiring testing, specialist assessment, and professional removal before work resumes. Record-keeping failures can also draw regulatory attention on their own; enforcement activity has included penalties for failing to properly document asbestos waste tracking, even without any evidence of illegal dumping.
These disruptions rarely stay contained to a single trade, flowing through to increased labour costs, contractor rescheduling, and disruption to tenants or customers relying on the site remaining operational. Identifying asbestos risk before work begins is one of the most effective ways to avoid these knock-on costs.
Legal liability beyond regulatory fines
An asbestos incident can expose a business to legal claims well beyond the regulator’s own enforcement action. Employees, contractors, tenants, and visitors who believe they have been put at risk may pursue compensation claims or negligence allegations, and insurance costs can rise following a notified incident. Litigation is typically slow and expensive, and the legal costs involved often exceed what appropriate asbestos planning would have cost in the first place.
Damage to business reputation and trust
Asbestos-related incidents can also attract negative attention from clients, employees, investors, and regulators, particularly for organisations in construction, property management, education, or healthcare, where trust and safety credentials matter to the people who engage them. Rebuilding that trust after a compliance failure can take considerably longer than the project itself, and may affect future tender opportunities for years afterwards.
The hidden cost of poor asbestos management records
Compliance involves more than physical removal. Where asbestos is identified, or likely to be present, a register documenting its location and condition is generally required, along with a management plan outlining risk controls and training requirements. Both should be reviewed and updated at least every five years, or sooner if the workplace changes.
Waste management is part of the same picture. Asbestos-contaminated waste generally needs to be double-wrapped, sealed, labelled, and disposed of at a specialised, licensed landfill, with removal tools decontaminated afterwards. Dumping asbestos in regular bins is illegal and carries significant penalties. In New South Wales, movements of asbestos waste over 100 kilograms, or more than 10 square metres of sheeting, must be tracked and reported to the EPA. Regulators have penalised businesses for inadequate waste documentation alone, even without any suggestion of illegal dumping.
Why prevention costs less than non-compliance
Set against these potential costs, the price of proactive asbestos management is comparatively modest. Professional inspections, compliance audits, awareness training, licensed removal, and an ongoing management plan represent a predictable, budgeted expense. Non-compliance, by contrast, brings unplanned costs that arrive at the worst possible time, mid-project, mid-tender, or mid-lease.
This is also where workplace safety matters most. Asbestos compliance exists to reduce exposure to airborne fibres, which has been linked to serious conditions including asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Mesothelioma can take 30 to 45 years to develop after exposure, and lung cancer risk is significantly higher for smokers also exposed to asbestos. Because there is no known safe minimum level of exposure, controlling asbestos risk early stands on its own merits.
How businesses can stay compliant
Practical asbestos compliance generally involves:
- Identifying asbestos-containing materials early, particularly before renovation or demolition
- Maintaining an up-to-date asbestos register and management plan
- Using licensed professionals for removal, including a licensed assessor for clearance certificates
- Providing relevant, task-specific awareness training to at-risk workers
- Keeping accurate documentation, including waste tracking and disposal records
- Reviewing and updating the register and management plan on schedule
Commercial and industrial properties generally carry more extensive requirements than owner-occupied residential ones, though the underlying health risks are the same. Home owners considering asbestos work should still seek professional advice, even where a licence is not strictly required.
The GBAR Group has spent years assessing, removing, and remediating asbestos and other hazardous materials for commercial and industrial clients, including schools, hospitals, builders, and demolishers, across Queensland, New South Wales, and the ACT.
Conclusion
The true cost of ignoring asbestos compliance extends far beyond the penalty attached to a single breach. Businesses that overlook their obligations may face asbestos fines, delays, legal claims, reputational damage, and disruption, often in combination. Proactive asbestos management is a predictable and considerably more cost-effective way to manage the same risk.
Need help managing asbestos compliance obligations? Contact the GBAR Group to keep your workplace safe, compliant, and protected from costly risks.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be fined for removing asbestos yourself?
Undertaking asbestos removal work without the required licence, where one is needed, can result in regulatory action regardless of who carries it out, including a home owner or DIY renovator. Even where a licence is not required, such as for a small quantity of non-friable material, the work must still follow proper safe work procedures, and professional advice is recommended given the health risks involved.
What are the risks of using an unlicensed asbestos removalist?
Unlicensed removal work increases the risk of asbestos fibres being released into the air, unsafe disposal of asbestos waste, and regulatory action against both the removalist and the business that commissioned the work. It can also result in a failed clearance process, since only a licensed asbestos assessor can issue a clearance certificate, requiring the work to be redone by a licensed provider before a site can be reoccupied.
What is the difference between friable and non-friable asbestos?
Friable asbestos can be crumbled or broken down into powder by hand when dry, which allows fibres to become airborne more easily and generally requires a Class A licence to remove, regardless of quantity. Non-friable asbestos is bonded into a rigid material, such as fibre cement sheeting, and poses lower risk if it is in good condition and left undisturbed, though larger quantities still require a licensed Class B removalist.
Does asbestos-containing material always need to be removed?
Not necessarily. Where material is in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed, many duty holders choose to manage it in place under an asbestos management plan rather than remove it immediately, scheduling removal for when the material deteriorates, is damaged, or is due to be disturbed by renovation, demolition, or other work.
How can you tell if a material contains asbestos?
Asbestos-containing materials cannot be reliably identified by sight alone, since many products look similar to ordinary building materials. Confirming whether asbestos is present generally requires a sample to be tested by a NATA-accredited laboratory, which is recommended before disturbing any material in a building constructed or renovated before the 1990s.
