Commercial property owners

Person with management or control

A commercial property leased or rented to businesses (i.e. employers) is regarded as a workplace under Victoria's health and safety laws.

If you are a commercial property owner who leases or rents, for example, a building or part of a building to a business or businesses, then you may have obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 to the extent of your management or control.

For example, a person who manages or controls a workplace must, so far as is reasonably practicable, eliminate the exposure of persons at the workplace to airborne asbestos fibres. If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate that exposure, they must reduce that exposure so far as is reasonably practicable.

If you engage a property manager, then the responsibility of managing asbestos may be delegated to the property manager. However, legal duties in relation to health and safety (including managing asbestos) cannot be delegated.

The sections below provide detailed information about your responsibilities for managing asbestos:

Updated