Asbestos Management Duties for Victorian Manufacturers in Older Factories

Why this matters for older factories

If your manufacturing site was built or fitted out before 2004, there's a good chance it contains asbestos-containing material (ACM) somewhere — roof sheeting, eaves lining, wall cladding, pipe lagging, gaskets, switchboard backing, or insulation on old process equipment. Asbestos wasn't fully banned from manufacture, use and import in Australia until December 2003 (Safe Work Australia), so almost any building, plant item or fit-out completed before then is a candidate.

That's not automatically a crisis — undamaged, well-managed asbestos in place is a manageable risk. But Victorian OHS law puts an ongoing duty on whoever manages or controls the workplace to find out whether asbestos is there, record it, and keep controlling it, not just deal with it if someone raises a concern. Part 4.4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic) is where these duties sit.

The duty to identify — or presume

Regulation 226 requires whoever manages or controls a workplace to identify all asbestos present under their management or control, so far as is reasonably practicable. Where there's uncertainty — an inaccessible roof void, untested old lagging, second-hand plant with no documentation — you can't just shrug and move on. You must either assume asbestos is present, or arrange for a sample to be analysed by a NATA-accredited laboratory. An assumption made this way is treated as an identification for the purposes of the regulation.

Once asbestos is identified (or assumed), regulation 226 also requires you to determine its location, material type, friability, condition, and whether any activity is likely to disturb or damage it. For inaccessible areas, you still have to make a reasonable attempt to establish likely location and source. Where reasonably practicable, its presence should also be clearly indicated — labelling being WorkSafe's preferred method.

In practice, for a pre-2004 factory this means: don't assume "we've never had a problem" is the same as "we've checked." If nobody has ever produced a written identification of the roof, wall sheeting and old plant, the duty hasn't been discharged yet, regardless of how the building looks.

Keeping an asbestos register

Regulation 227 requires the results of that identification to be recorded in an asbestos register. The register has to contain the details determined under regulation 226 — location, material type, friability, condition — plus details of any inaccessible areas likely to contain asbestos, and the date of each identification.

The register isn't a set-and-forget document. Regulation 228 requires it to be revised to stay current whenever there's a change to the condition of any asbestos, or when asbestos is removed, enclosed or sealed. Separately, it must be reviewed — and revised if necessary — at least every five years. The register also needs to be accessible to employees and contractors who may be affected, which matters directly for any contractor doing electrical, roofing or maintenance work on an older building.

This is the same "living document" logic that applies to your hazardous substances register and SDS register — a register that exists but hasn't been touched in years is close to useless, and an inspector will ask for the last review date, not just the document's existence.

Managing asbestos in place vs removing it

Identifying and registering asbestos doesn't create an automatic duty to rip it out. WorkSafe's guidance is explicit that the response follows a hierarchy: eliminate the risk by removing the asbestos if reasonably practicable; if removal isn't reasonably practicable, contain it (enclosure); and where risk remains after enclosure, seal it. This mirrors the general hierarchy of controls manufacturers already apply to other hazards.

For a lot of older factories, "manage in place" is the realistic and lawful position — a sound, undamaged, non-friable sheet on a roof that nobody accesses, clearly identified in the register and checked periodically, doesn't need to come out this year. What changes the calculus is condition and disturbance: deteriorating material, planned works that will cut, drill or demolish anything containing asbestos, or a change of use that increases exposure risk. Any of those should trigger a fresh look at whether "manage in place" is still the right answer, and a review of the register to match.

When licensed removal is required

Most asbestos removal work in Victoria must be done by a licensed asbestos removalist. There are two licence classes, and which one you need depends on the type of material:

Licence class	Regulation	Covers
Class A	reg 264	Friable asbestos-containing material (crumbles or can be crumbled by hand)
Class B	reg 265	Non-friable asbestos-containing material (bonded, e.g. most flat and corrugated sheeting)

A Class A licence holder can also perform Class B work; a Class B licence is limited to non-friable material. Removal workers must be trained (reg 269), and licensed removal work carries its own procedural requirements — including notice of the work (reg 298) and, at completion, clearance requirements and clearance certificates before the area is handed back for normal use (regs 294 and 297).

Licence applications go through WorkSafe Victoria and carry an application fee (Class A $1,307.30, Class B $1,113.90 at time of writing), and require either a current external OHS management system certification for asbestos removal or evidence of a recent WorkSafe audit. Licences run for up to five years.

There's a narrow exception: regulation 250 permits limited, unlicensed removal of non-friable ACM where the total area removed does not exceed 10 square metres and the total time spent on the removal work in any 7-day period does not exceed one hour. This is a tight carve-out for very small jobs, not a general "small job" rule of thumb — and it never applies to friable material.

Practical next steps for manufacturers

• Gather what you already hold on the building's age, construction materials and any past asbestos surveys or removal work.
• If there's no documented identification, commission one — a licensed assessor or occupational hygienist can inspect and arrange NATA-accredited sampling where needed.
• Set up or update the asbestos register with location, material type, friability and condition, and put a review date in your compliance calendar rather than leaving the five-year clock to chance.
• Before any work that will disturb a wall, roof, pipe run or old machinery component, check the register first — don't find out from a cut sheet edge.
• If removal is the right call, engage a Class A or Class B removalist matched to the material, and don't accept handover without the clearance certificate.

FAQ

Do I need an asbestos register if my factory was built after 2003? The duty to identify and register applies wherever asbestos is present or reasonably suspected, regardless of build date — but pre-2004 buildings are the highest-probability case because asbestos wasn't fully banned from manufacture, use and import in Australia until December 2003 (Safe Work Australia). A newer building with no ACM in its construction records is lower risk, but any older plant, imported components or prior fit-outs can still bring asbestos onto a newer site.

Can we remove a small amount of asbestos sheeting ourselves? Only within a narrow exception: regulation 250 of the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) allows unlicensed removal of non-friable asbestos-containing material where the total area is 10 square metres or less and the work takes no more than one hour in any 7-day period. Anything larger, anything friable, or work that exceeds either limit requires a licensed removalist (Class A for friable, Class B for non-friable).

How often does our asbestos register need to be reviewed? Under regulation 228, the register must be revised whenever the condition of any asbestos changes, or when asbestos is removed, enclosed or sealed — and it must be formally reviewed, and revised if necessary, at least every five years even if nothing appears to have changed.

What's the difference between a Class A and Class B removal licence? Class A licensees (reg 264) can remove friable asbestos-containing material — material that can be crumbled by hand. Class B licensees (reg 265) are limited to non-friable material, which covers most bonded sheeting. A Class A licence also covers Class B work; a Class B licence does not extend to friable material.

If we find asbestos, do we have to remove it immediately? Not necessarily. WorkSafe's guidance treats removal as the preferred control where reasonably practicable, but allows managing sound, undamaged asbestos in place through enclosure or sealing where removal isn't reasonably practicable. The register and condition assessment should drive that decision, and it should be revisited whenever condition changes or disturbance is planned.

If you're not confident your factory's asbestos position — identification, register, or the removal-versus-manage-in-place call — would hold up under a WorkSafe inspection, book a site assessment with Ardmor and we'll walk the building with you.

This article is general information for Victorian manufacturers, not legal advice. Last updated: 20 September 2026.