How do I know if something contains asbestos?

You cannot tell by looking — the only reliable answer is laboratory analysis of a sample taken safely, which is what a licensed assessor does. Age is a useful screen: Australia banned all use of asbestos at the end of 2003, and the material was common in residential construction until the late 1980s.

Is asbestos dangerous if I leave it alone?

Bonded asbestos cement in good condition, undisturbed and sealed, is generally regarded as low risk and is routinely left in place. The risk is in the fibres released when it is broken, cut, sanded, drilled or weathered to the point of crumbling. That is why the advice is about disturbance rather than presence.

Who to hire for asbestos in a house

Short answer

A licensed asbestos assessor to identify and sample it, and a licensed asbestos removalist to remove it. The rules are national in structure and administered by each state's work health and safety regulator; friable asbestos requires the higher class of licence and can never be removed by a householder.

Plan itThere is time to get more than one quote, which is where the money is.

When it is someone else

Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Builder.

a licensed asbestos assessor
before any work. Identification is done by laboratory analysis of a sample, not by looking, and a written identification is what a removalist, a builder and a council all need.
a builder
the asbestos is discovered mid-renovation. Work stops, and that is not a delay to negotiate around.

What to do before anyone arrives

Assume anything in a house built before the late 1980s could contain it — eaves, wall sheeting in wet areas, the backing board in the meter box, vinyl floor tiles and their backing, fences, and corrugated roof and wall sheeting.
Do not sand, drill, cut or high-pressure wash anything you suspect. Undamaged, undisturbed asbestos cement is generally left in place safely; making dust is the hazard.
Get it identified by a laboratory through an assessor. A written result is the basis for every decision after it.
Check what your state allows a householder to do. The answer is genuinely different across the country.

What to ask when you book

What class of licence do you hold, and what is the number?
Is the material friable or non-friable, and what is the evidence?
How will the area be sealed, and will there be air monitoring and a clearance certificate?
Where is the waste going, and will I get the disposal documentation?

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

Friable versus non-friable.
Quantity and location — a meter box backing board is a different job from a roof.
Whether air monitoring and a clearance certificate are required.
Disposal, which must go to a licensed facility and is charged accordingly.

What you can do yourself

Is this licensed work?

Asbestos removal is licensed under work health and safety law, in two classes: friable material requires the more restrictive licence, and non-friable removal above a small area requires a licence. Some states permit a householder to remove a limited area of non-friable material from their own home and others do not — check your state's regulator before touching anything.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for asbestos in the house: A licensed asbestos assessor to identify and sample it, and a licensed asbestos removalist to remove it. The rules are national in structure and administered by each state's work health and safety regulator; friable asbestos requires the higher class of licence and can never be removed by a householder.
How do I know if something contains asbestos?: You cannot tell by looking — the only reliable answer is laboratory analysis of a sample taken safely, which is what a licensed assessor does. Age is a useful screen: Australia banned all use of asbestos at the end of 2003, and the material was common in residential construction until the late 1980s.
Is asbestos dangerous if I leave it alone?: Bonded asbestos cement in good condition, undisturbed and sealed, is generally regarded as low risk and is routinely left in place. The risk is in the fibres released when it is broken, cut, sanded, drilled or weathered to the point of crumbling. That is why the advice is about disturbance rather than presence.

Find a Builder near you

9,049 builders in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.

Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.