If you own or manage a building that others use (commercial property, community facility, strata or government building), you have specific obligations around asbestos.
Your core obligation
Under Victorian OHS law, a commercial property leased or rented to a business is a workplace. You must, so far as reasonably practicable, eliminate or reduce the risk of exposure to airborne asbestos fibres for anyone in the building.
What you must do
- Identify asbestos in the building and maintain an asbestos register.
- Control risks: removal is the goal. If not immediately possible, manage the risk while planning for removal.
- Provide the asbestos register to employers, contractors and anyone doing work that may involve exposure.
- Ensure asbestos is removed before demolition or refurbishment.
- Keep the register up to date: review it whenever conditions change, or at least every five years.
If you use a property manager
You can delegate the day-to-day management of asbestos to a property manager, but you can’t delegate your legal duties. If they fail to meet the requirements, you’re still responsible.
Government buildings
Victorian Government agencies can contact the Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency for support with risk-rating asbestos materials, developing removal plans and procurement scoping.
Asbestos installed after 1 January 2004
If your property is found to contain asbestos installed after the ban date, you must notify WorkSafe and agree to a removal or management plan within 60 days. Doesn’t apply to domestic premises used solely for domestic purposes.