WorkSafe published the second and third stages of its rewritten asbestos guidance on 16 April 2026, completing a suite that now includes material written specifically for tradespeople rather than only for licensed removalists. That distinction matters, because most asbestos exposure on residential jobs happens to plumbers, sparkies, builders and painters who never intended to disturb it at all.
The regulatory duties themselves did not change. The Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 still set the framework, and the interpretive guidelines still explain what a PCBU must do before, during and after any work that could disturb asbestos-containing material. What changed is that WorkSafe has made those duties far harder to misread — which in turn makes it harder to argue you did not know, if a claim or an investigation follows.
Why This Matters for Your Liability Policy
Almost every general liability policy sold to a trade business carries an asbestos exclusion. It is one of the most consistently applied exclusions in the market, alongside those for pollution and for faulty workmanship. The wording varies, but the effect is broadly the same: the insurer will not respond to liability arising out of asbestos, whether that liability is for injury, for property contamination, or for the cost of cleaning up a site.
The practical consequence is that if you cut into a mid-century soffit, release fibres, and the homeowner has to move out while a licensed removalist decontaminates the house, the remediation bill sits with you. There is no public liability cover behind it. The homeowner has a straightforward negligence claim, and you are meeting it personally or from the business.
That is not a gap you close by buying a bigger limit. A $5M policy with an asbestos exclusion pays exactly the same as a $1M policy with an asbestos exclusion. The only workable protection is procedural — identify the material before you touch it.
Which Buildings Are In Scope
Asbestos was used widely in residential and commercial construction until it was progressively withdrawn. The rough working rule most trades apply is set out below, though age alone is never a substitute for an inspection.
| Build period | Likelihood of asbestos-containing material | Typical locations |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-1980 | High | Fibre cement cladding, soffits, roofing, vinyl backing, textured ceilings, lagging |
| 1980-1990 | Moderate | Remaining stock of cement sheet, some flooring products, older imported fittings |
| 1990-2000 | Low but not zero | Residual stock, imported components, previously renovated sections |
| Post-2000 | Very low | Generally only where older material was retained during earlier work |
The awkward cases are renovated properties. A 2015 kitchen extension on a 1962 house tells you nothing about the rest of the building, and the section you are working on may sit directly against original material.
The Duties That Sit With You
Under the regulations, a PCBU with management or control of a workplace must identify asbestos, or assume it is present, before work begins. For a subcontractor arriving on someone else's site, that duty does not disappear — you still have a duty to your own workers and to others affected by your work.
- Identify or assume. Either the material has been tested and cleared, or you treat it as asbestos-containing and work accordingly. There is no third option.
- Check the asbestos management plan. Workplaces built before 1 January 2000 that are not residential dwellings must have one. Ask for it and read the register before you start.
- Stay under the licensing thresholds. Removal of more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos requires a Class B licence. Any friable asbestos requires Class A. There is no volume allowance for friable material.
- Notify where required. Licensed removal work must be notified to WorkSafe in advance.
- Keep the evidence. Test results, clearance certificates, photographs of the material before work started. These are what defend you if a contamination claim arrives eighteen months later.
The 10 Square Metre Trap
The non-friable threshold is frequently misread as a permission. It is not. Removing under 10 square metres without a licence is legal, but every other duty still applies — control measures, decontamination, safe disposal to a facility that accepts asbestos, and worker health monitoring where exposure is likely. A tradesperson who removes eight square metres of cement sheet with an angle grinder and no containment has complied with the licensing rule and breached almost everything else.
What Cover Is Actually Available
Because the exclusion is near-universal in general liability wordings, businesses that work with asbestos deliberately have to structure cover differently.
| Business type | Realistic position |
|---|---|
| General trades, no intended asbestos work | Standard liability policy with asbestos exclusion. Risk managed by identification, not insurance. |
| Licensed removalist (Class A or B) | Specialist liability placement with asbestos cover written back in. Materially higher premium and strict conditions on method statements. |
| Surveyor or assessor | Professional indemnity is the primary cover, since the exposure is a wrong opinion rather than physical damage. |
| Demolition and strip-out | Usually requires both a specialist liability placement and contract works cover. |
If asbestos work is only an occasional part of what you do, the honest answer is usually to subcontract it to a licensed operator and verify their certificate of currency rather than trying to buy the cover yourself. Their premium is priced for that risk. Yours is not.
Verifying a Subcontractor Properly
A licence number and a certificate of currency are two separate things and you need both. Check that the licence class matches the work — a Class B holder cannot lawfully touch friable material — and check that the liability policy named on the certificate does not itself exclude asbestos. Certificates issued on general trade wordings frequently do, which leaves the principal exposed even though a certificate was collected.
Where the Liability Lands After an Incident
Contamination claims tend to be expensive out of proportion to the work that caused them. The cost driver is not the asbestos, it is everything around it: decontamination of the dwelling, disposal of soft furnishings and carpet, alternative accommodation for the occupants, air clearance testing, and in disputed cases, expert evidence. A modest disturbance in an occupied home can run well into six figures once those items are added.
Where there is also a WorkSafe investigation, fines and reparation orders sit alongside the civil claim. Fines are not insurable. Reparation to a victim can sometimes be met by a statutory liability policy, if you hold one and the wording permits, but the fine itself never is. Our coverage guide sets out how statutory liability and public liability handle these two exposures differently.
A Practical Pre-Start Routine
- Ask the age of the building and whether any part has been renovated, and record the answer
- For anything pre-2000, request the asbestos management plan or, for dwellings, arrange a survey of the work area
- Photograph the material you will be working on before you touch it
- Where testing is not practical and the material is suspect, price the job on the assumption it is asbestos-containing
- Never use power tools, water blasters or abrasive discs on unidentified sheet material
- Keep clearance certificates with the job file, not loose in a vehicle
Next Steps
Read your current liability wording and find the asbestos exclusion — it is there, and knowing exactly how it is worded tells you where your exposure starts. Then check WorkSafe's updated tradespeople guidance against how your crews actually work on older buildings, because the gap between the two is where claims come from.
If your work regularly brings you into contact with pre-2000 building stock and you are unsure whether your current arrangement is adequate, Get a Quote and a referred adviser can review the wording and, where the risk warrants it, look at a specialist placement.