Asbestos waste rules for businesses and builders

If you run a business or a building crew, asbestos waste tracking in Queensland applies to you from the first kilogram. The rules for commercial loads are stricter than for households, and the council tip at Wellcamp will not take commercial asbestos at all.

This guide explains the paperwork side of disposal. It sits under our asbestos disposal in Toowoomba overview.

Asbestos is regulated waste

In Queensland, asbestos waste is regulated waste. It must go to a site approved to receive it and licensed to take asbestos. It cannot be reused, recycled, stored, sold or given away.

When waste tracking applies

Waste tracking documentation is required in two situations.

• Any commercial operator carrying asbestos waste, in any quantity.
• A non-commercial carrier, such as a homeowner, moving more than 250 kg.

So a builder with one wrapped sheet in the back of the ute is covered. A householder with the same sheet is not.

When you need an environmental authority

Transporting more than 175 kg of asbestos waste needs an environmental authority for regulated waste transport (ERA 57). At 175 kg or less, a homeowner or contractor does not need one.

For scale, 175 kg of flat asbestos cement sheet is about a fifth of a normal household trailer. 250 kg is about a quarter.

These two limits are separate. A homeowner moving 230 kg themselves needs the environmental authority, because it is over 175 kg, but not waste tracking, because it is under 250 kg and non-commercial.

A removal licence is not a transport approval

Holding a Class A or Class B removal licence does not let a business carry asbestos waste. Transport needs its own approval. Many builders assume the licence covers it, and it does not.

The Waste Tracking Unit is on (07) 3330 5677, and permits and licensing is on 13 QGOV (13 74 68). Ring them if you are unsure which approval you need.

The waste levy and gate fees

Certain types of lawfully managed and transported asbestos waste are automatically exempt from the Queensland waste levy. The levy is paid by landfill operators, and exempt waste can still carry a gate fee. Contact the receiving site before you go to confirm its fees, its tracking requirements and any special arrangements.

Records worth keeping

Keep your tracking documents, the Safe Work Method Statement for the job and any licence details for contractors you used. If the work was licensed removal, keep the clearance certificate too.

If you manage a workplace, you may also need an asbestos register and a written management plan. The register applies to buildings built before 31 December 1989. It must be reviewed at least every five years, or sooner if asbestos is disturbed, removed or sealed. A copy must go to demolition, refurbishment and maintenance contractors before they start.

Builders and demolition work

On renovation and demolition sites, asbestos should be identified and removed before demolition starts, so far as is reasonably practicable. See our strip outs and demolition in Toowoomba page for how that fits together.

Where we fit

For jobs we take on, disposal and waste transport are part of the service, with a Class B licence for non-friable asbestos and a Safe Work Method Statement prepared for the job. If the material is friable, a Class A licensed removalist is needed, and we will tell you when that applies.

If you are carrying your own loads, get the packaging right first. Our guide on how to wrap and transport asbestos in Queensland covers it. If a load turns up dumped rather than delivered, see illegal asbestos dumping. You can also start at our homepage.

Rules change. Check the current requirements at asbestos.qld.gov.au and worksafe.qld.gov.au.