The owner or manager with management or control of your business premises has legal duties in relation to managing and removing asbestos at your workplace.
It is important to consider whether you still have any management or control over parts of the workplace or plant that may contain asbestos.
Even without management or control of your workplace, as an employer you must, so far as is reasonably practicable eliminate the exposure of any person at your workplace to airborne asbestos fibres, arising from the undertaking of your work. If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the exposure, you must reduce the exposure, so far as is reasonably practicable.
The following steps will assist in meeting these duties
Next Step: Manage
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Your building owner or manager must provide you with a copy of the asbestos register for your building or structure. This will help you determine whether any of your work is likely to disturb or damage the asbestos. You can find more information about asbestos registers in the Manage Asbestos section.
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Asbestos was widely used in the mid-1980s in gasket and friction brake products and, despite a large reduction in its use, it was still known to be used in some plant applications until recent years.
If you have management or control of plant used in your workplace, you should talk to the supplier, manufacturer or designer of your plant to find out if it contains asbestos. If possible, get this advice in writing. If this isn't possible, you should refer to the design plans and seek advice from an experienced engineer or plant designer.
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Conduct a thorough inspection using the asbestos register to familiarise yourself with the locations of present asbestos. If you think there is a risk that your work will disturb asbestos in the building or structure, you should notify your building manager or owner.
It's important to take notes and photos during your inspection because the notes can be used to produce the asbestos register. You can find more information about asbestos registers in the Manage Asbestos section
Reviewed 22 November 2021