Working as a licensed asbestos assessor
What you need to know if you work for or run a business as a licensed asbestos assessor in NSW.
Key information
- Working with asbestos must be managed safely as exposure to asbestos may lead to asbestos-related diseases. That's why you need to follow the rules.
- In NSW, you must meet specific training or experience requirements before you can be licensed to work in the asbestos assessor industry.
- You must hold a current asbestos assessor licence to assess Class A asbestos removal work. You must be a competent person to assess Class B asbestos removal work. You must be independent.
Licensing and training
Assessing Class A asbestos removal work
You must have an asbestos assessor licence to undertake the following for Class A work:
- conducting air monitoring
- carrying out clearance inspections
- issuing clearance certificates
You might find asbestos assessment work being carried out where a Class A asbestos removalist is removing lagging from a pipe, for example.
Other duties
Licensed asbestos assessors may also be engaged to:
- take asbestos samples
- develop asbestos registers
- create pre-demolition asbestos surveys
You must have the experience and competence to undertake these tasks, even if you’re a licensed asbestos assessor.
Assessing Class B asbestos removal work
You must be competent in the assessment of asbestos to assess Class B asbestos removal work.
Either a licensed asbestos assessor or a competent person can assess Class B asbestos removal work. You must be independent.
Find out how to apply on the asbestos assessor licence page.
Find a licensed asbestos professional at Verify.licence.
Independence
To be considered independent, the licensed asbestos assessor or competent person must not be involved in:
- the removal of asbestos for that specific job
- any business or undertaking involved in the removal of asbestos for that specific job.
A conflict of interest could arise from doing assessment work for relatives, friends or a person with whom you have an ongoing working relationship.
If a reasonable person thinks you have a potential conflict of interest, you are not independent.
For more information, visit asbestos professionals – who does what?
Watch our video for further information about asbestos hazards, risks and identification.
Training and compliance
Businesses, employers and other persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) have a duty to provide information, training and instructions to their workers.
Asbestos assessor work has specific formal training and licensing requirements.
To gain an asbestos assessor licence, you/your workers must complete training with a tertiary institution or SafeWork-approved registered training organisation (RTO) or have the required experience.
Visit our asbestos page and click on employer training obligations for more information.
Businesses, employers and other PCBUs must keep a record of a worker’s asbestos training while they are carrying out the asbestos assessor work, and for five years after they have finished the work.
SafeWork NSW will conduct audits to ensure you are complying with your regulatory obligations.
Laws to follow
There are laws you must follow to ensure your safety, the safety of the community and to meet the requirements of your licence.
Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Employers of workers removing asbestos, or being exposed to asbestos, must follow the Act.
Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulation 2017. Asbestos removalists and their employers in NSW must follow the Regulation.
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 governs the disposal of asbestos waste under the regulator, NSW Environment Protection Authority.
To comply with the laws, go to the Code of Practice – How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace (PDF, 946.85 KB) and the Code of Practice – How to safely remove asbestos (PDF, 2323.17 KB).
Find out more about SafeWork's approach to work health and safety.
If you are caught issuing clearance certificates without attending the worksite to conduct an assessment, SafeWork NSW can cancel your licence.
Health monitoring
Employers must provide all asbestos workers with health monitoring.
Risks of exposure to asbestos
As a licensed asbestos assessor, you will be undertaking asbestos related work such as sampling and air monitoring and are at risk of inhalation of asbestos fibres.
If you inhale the fibres, you may contract asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer.
That's why you must undergo health monitoring.
Employer obligations
If you employ workers at risk of asbestos exposure when carrying out their work, you must fulfil your obligations under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulation 2017.
You must:
- advise your workers of the health risks of working with asbestos
- provide your workers with health monitoring by a registered medical professional.
To find out more about health monitoring, visit the icare website.
A copy of a health monitoring report must be provided to SafeWork NSW when it:
- contains advice that a worker may have contracted a disease, injury or illness, or
- recommends remedial measures.
You can notify us using the notification of adverse health monitoring report form (PDF, 771.67 KB).
Penalties apply for failure by a PCBU to notify SafeWork NSW of an adverse health monitoring report.
Sampling and testing
If you find material that could be asbestos, you must assume it is until proven otherwise.
The only way to be sure is to have a sample tested at a facility accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA).
Planning and notifying
Before carrying out any asbestos assessment work, you must ask for these two documents.
Asbestos register
If the workplace was built before 31 December 2003 or if asbestos has been found at the workplace, or may be in future, the owner or manager must keep an asbestos register.
They must make the asbestos register available to anyone at the workplace who has carried out work or intends to.
Asbestos management plan
If asbestos has been found at a workplace, the owner or manager must prepare and maintain an asbestos management plan.
The plan must be available to all workers at the workplace.
Personal protective equipment
Before carrying out any asbestos assessment work, you must have all the required personal protective equipment (PPE) and respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
The PPE you must have:
- disposable coveralls (Type 5, Category 3), one size too big, to prevent ripping
- asbestos-use only footwear, or non-slip shoe covers/booties
- single-use disposable nitrile gloves
- respirator suited to the job, see Appendix C in the Code of Practice – How to safely remove asbestos (PDF, 2770.66 KB)
- protective eyewear (if required)
Other items you should have:
- asbestos waste bags and adhesive tape for disposal of PPE and bagging of asbestos footwear
- wet wipes or rags with a bucket of water
- torch, screwdriver, sample bags, sealed box for storage of tools/equipment
- camera and note-taking material.
For RPE, you must:
- check with the supplier or manufacturer of your respirator that it is the right one for the job you are doing (Class A or Class B)
- get a fit test to ensure the respirator fits correctly. To find a fit testing consultant visit the respfit.org.au website.
- check your respirator and filters are in good condition
- be clean-shaven to ensure your respirator has an adequate seal on your face. If you do have stubble or facial hair, you must use a loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirator
- store reusable respirators in a clean, sealable container away from dust and chemicals
- ensure reusable RPE is working properly and is safe for reuse by inspecting, cleaning and maintaining it regularly following the manufacturer’s instructions and safe work procedures.
Watch our video for further information about PPE and RPE.
Don’t reuse RPE that has broken straps, damaged facepieces, or that has been stored improperly.
Asbestos removalist work
See the work licensed asbestos removalists must do to prepare the area.
Watch our videos for further information about setting up an asbestos work area and safe handling and controls (drilling).
Decontamination
The asbestos removal licence holder must ensure there are facilities to decontaminate the work area and any equipment or people involved in the work (or who accessed the area).
Watch our video for further information about decontamination.
Air monitoring
Air monitoring involves collecting air samples to assess the levels of airborne respirable asbestos fibres.
As a licensed asbestos assessor, you will undertake air monitoring to determine the effectiveness of controls, known as air (control) monitoring, during Class A asbestos removal work. You will also undertake air monitoring as part of a clearance inspection if there is an enclosure.
Air (control) monitoring
For Class A asbestos removal work
For asbestos removal work that requires a Class A asbestos removal licence, an independent licensed asbestos assessor must undertake air (control) monitoring of the asbestos removal area at the workplace:
- before, during and if necessary, after removal work
- using the membrane filter method
- before dismantling any enclosure (results must be below 0.01 fibres/ml before the enclosure is dismantled).
An enclosure is a physical barrier around the asbestos work area that prevents the spread of asbestos materials to the surrounding environment.
During the asbestos removal work you must place air monitors outside any enclosure to measure the effectiveness of the enclosure, at the clean end of asbestos decontamination units, and within nearby work areas that are not part of the asbestos removal area (for example, meal rooms and toilets).
Air (control) monitoring can also be used when Class A asbestos removal work is being undertaken where enclosures are not reasonably practicable (for example, removal of friable asbestos in soils).
Air monitors are usually placed at the site's perimeters and other work areas as determined by the assessor to measure the effectiveness of the controls.
What to do if respirable levels are too high
During Class A asbestos removal work, the assessor undertaking the air (control) monitoring must advise the asbestos removalist of the asbestos fibre level recorded:
If the air (control) monitoring shows airborne asbestos levels between 0.01 and 0.02 fibres/ml, the asbestos removal licence holder must:
- investigate the cause of the respirable asbestos fibre level
- implement controls to prevent exposure of anyone to asbestos
- prevent the further release of respirable asbestos fibres.
If the air (control) monitoring shows airborne asbestos levels at more than 0.02 fibres/ml, the asbestos removal licence holder must:
- order the asbestos removal work to stop
- notify SafeWork using our online notification system
- investigate the cause of the respirable asbestos fibre level
- implement controls to prevent anyone from being exposed to asbestos
- prevent the further release of respirable asbestos fibres.
The person who commissions the Class A asbestos removal work must provide the air (control) monitoring results to their workers, health and safety representatives and anyone else at the workplace.
Clearance inspections
Clearance inspections for Class A work involve the asbestos assessor undertaking a visual inspection, and (if there is an enclosure) clearance air monitoring.
Visual inspections should include:
- areas within the enclosure if there is one, and any waste routes
- ledges and horizontal surfaces below the removal area
- cracks in the floor
- folds in plastic sheeting
- joins in decontamination units
- other areas that may have been overlooked during the initial cleanup.
For clearance air monitoring, you must place air monitors within the enclosure. Results must show that any identified respirable asbestos fibre levels are below 0.01fibres/ml before the removalist dismantles the enclosure.
Clearance certificates
A clearance certificate must be issued before the workplace is re-occupied. The licensed asbestos assessor must ensure that the asbestos removal area does not risk people’s health and safety from asbestos exposure.
You must not issue a clearance certificate unless you are satisfied that the asbestos removal area, and the area immediately surrounding it, are free from visible asbestos contamination.
If air (control) monitoring was also conducted, the result of that test must show asbestos is below 0.01 fibres/ml.
The clearance certificate must be in writing and state:
- the assessor or competent person found no visible asbestos residue from asbestos removal work in the area or in the vicinity of the area where the work was carried out, and
- the airborne asbestos fibre level was below 0.01 asbestos fibres/ml.
A good clearance certificate will include:
- date and address of asbestos removal work
- name and contact details of client
- name of licensed asbestos removalist
- name and contact details of licensed asbestos removalist supervisor
- date and time of clearance inspection
- exactly what you were engaged to do. For example, “Engaged to conduct a clearance inspection of the removal of 5 lineal m of asbestos pipe lagging from hot water system pipes in the laundry.”
- list of asbestos removal documents you reviewed before the inspection (for example, SafeWork notification, asbestos removal control plan, safe work method statement (DOCX, 172.83 KB), scope of works) and whether the removal work was consistent with documents
- which areas you inspected, including waste routes, and vertical and horizontal surfaces
- National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) certificate of analysis for air (control) monitoring
- photographs of the inspected areas confirming asbestos removal
- name and licence number of the licensed asbestos assessor who carried out the inspection.
You must provide the clearance certificate in writing to the PCBU/client and/or owner/occupier/controller of the workplace.
Find an example of a clearance certificate in Appendix D of the Code of Practice – How to safely remove asbestos (PDF, 2770.66 KB).
Asbestos left onsite
Make note of any removed asbestos left onsite, and/or any asbestos that was not removed as it was not accessible.
Asbestos that has been removed should only be left onsite in exceptional circumstances and only if it is not reasonably practicable for the removalist to dispose of it at a licensed waste facility.
You must not complete the clearance inspection until the asbestos is disposed of.