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It is important to accurately identify the presence of asbestos materials so that precautions can be taken to avoid disturbing or damaging them until they can be safely removed by a licensed asbestos professional. Asbestos can only be disposed of at a facility licensed to accept asbestos waste.

Asbestos cement roofs are particularly concerning as they are in the poorest condition of all asbestos materials remaining in the built environment, posing a relatively high asbestos exposure risk.

If there’s an incident involving asbestos, you could be held responsible for clean-up and compensation costs. This may affect the cost and coverage of your insurance if you own a property that contains asbestos or if you carry out work involving asbestos.

Fires, floods, storms and cyclones can damage asbestos materials, increasing the risk of asbestos exposure.

The National Asbestos Exposure Register (NAER) is a register for anyone who believes they may have been exposed to asbestos. Submitting information helps ensure accurate details are recorded after exposure in case of any future asbestos-related health issues.

Knowing if your home contains asbestos is important for the purposes of protecting your health and that of your family, particularly if you are planning any home improvements, repairs or renovations or at the point of buying, selling or renting a home.

Work health and safety (WHS) laws prohibit work involving asbestos except in specific circumstances where strict safety rules must be followed. If you manage or control a workplace (including as a commercial property owner) the WHS laws contain a range of duties to protect the health and safety of workers and others at the workplace.

Although asbestos occurs naturally in some parts of Australia, land can also become contaminated with asbestos waste. Under environment protection laws everyone has a duty not to pollute the environment or to unlawfully dispose of asbestos waste.