Asbestos is back on the agenda

GUEST OBSERVER

We are all painfully aware that asbestos is nasty, really nasty. According to the Australian Mesothelioma Registry there were 612 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in 2011.

By 31 August 2012, 310 of those diagnosed in 2011 had died – more than half.

Yet as this amazingly versatile, but lethal, building material is being progressively cleansed from our building stock, it seems that complacency is beginning to set in.

This is likely to be one of key the reasons for the introduction of the asbestos related elements of The Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011.

Now for the legal bit - these regulations implement the model Work Health and Safety Regulations (the model regulations) in the Commonwealth jurisdiction and form part of a system of nationally harmonised occupational health and safety (OHS) laws.

Since 1 January 2013, it has been a legal requirement that every workplace constructed on or before 31 December 2003 has an asbestos register held at the subject site. Anyone involved in the ownership, management or occupation of a building is liable under the regulations.

To emphasise the obligations, there are penalties of up to $18,000 for non-compliance with each or all of the following obligations under clause 425 of the regulations:

1. A person with management or control of a workplace must ensure that a register (an asbestos register) is prepared and kept at the workplace.
   
   
2. The person must ensure that the asbestos register is maintained to ensure the information in the register is up to date.
   
   
3. The asbestos register must:

(a) record any asbestos or asbestos containing material (“ACM”) identified at the workplace under regulation 422, or likely to be present at the workplace from time to time including:

(i) the date on which the asbestos or ACM was identified; and

(ii) the location, type and condition of the asbestos or ACM; or (b) state that no asbestos or ACM is identified at the workplace if the person knows that no asbestos or ACM is identified, or is likely to be present from time to time, at the workplace.

Given that the regulations have been in force for over 15 months now, it is really surprising to find that there are many managers of commercial and industrial property who are unaware of the requirement for an asbestos register, and even more concerning that there are owners who, once advised of the requirement, will not authorise the expenditure to have such a register compiled.

It’s not expensive, it’s not complicated, and the penalties are high. It’s time to put asbestos back on the agenda.

John Preece is Knight Frank’s national director - project management and building consultancy.