Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP) SWMS

An asbestos removal control plan is the mandatory document a licensed asbestos removalist must prepare before carrying out licensed asbestos removal work under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations. It is the central planning instrument for the removal: it sets out how the specific removal job will be carried out and how the risks to workers and others will be controlled, and it must be prepared before the work begins and kept until the removal is complete and the area cleared. This document provides the structure, mandatory content and supporting registers to produce a defensible asbestos removal control plan, and it works alongside the task-specific asbestos method statements for friable removal, non-friable removal, encapsulation and contaminated-soil work.

Asbestos removal work is high risk construction work because it involves, or is likely to involve, the disturbance of asbestos, so a safe work method statement is also required and the control plan and the SWMS operate together. The plan must address the licence class required — a Class A licence for friable asbestos and asbestos-contaminated dust, or a Class B licence for more than ten square metres of non-friable asbestos — the removal method, the air monitoring, the decontamination arrangements, the waste containment and disposal, and the clearance process. For friable removal the plan must reflect that air monitoring is mandatory and that an independent licensed asbestos assessor, engaged by the PCBU who commissioned the work, conducts the control and clearance air monitoring and issues the clearance certificate. A clearance certificate can only be issued when the area is clear of visible asbestos contamination and, where air monitoring is part of the clearance, the airborne fibre level is below 0.01 fibres per millilitre. This document is written so a duty holder can prepare a plan that genuinely controls the removal and withstands regulator scrutiny.

Hazards identified

9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination: where the asbestos can remain safely undisturbed and the work does not require its removal, manage it in place under an asbestos management plan rather than removing it, eliminating the disturbance.
2. 2Substitution: where removal is required, select the lowest-disturbance method appropriate to the material — for example whole-component removal or wetted removal over aggressive breaking.
3. 3Engineering: document the containment and engineering controls for the removal — enclosure and negative pressure where required for friable work, wet methods or controlled wetting, and HEPA-filtered vacuuming — and how their performance is maintained.
4. 4Administrative: identify the correct licence class in the plan — Class A for friable asbestos and asbestos-contaminated dust, or Class B for more than ten square metres of non-friable asbestos — and confirm the removalist holds it and works under a suitably qualified supervisor.
5. 5Administrative: prepare the asbestos removal control plan before the work begins, keep it available until the removal is complete and the clearance issued, and prepare the SWMS for the high risk construction work alongside it.
6. 6Administrative: document the air monitoring approach — mandatory for friable removal, conducted by an independent licensed asbestos assessor engaged by the PCBU who commissioned the work — with the control and clearance monitoring and the 0.01 fibres per millilitre clearance criterion recorded.
7. 7Administrative: set out the decontamination arrangements for workers, equipment and the area, and the personal decontamination units where required, so fibres are not carried beyond the removal area.
8. 8Administrative: document the waste containment and disposal — double-bagging or wrapping, labelling, and disposal at a facility authorised to accept asbestos — and the transport arrangements.
9. 9Administrative: set out the clearance process — a clearance certificate issued only when the area is clear of visible asbestos contamination and, where air monitoring forms part of the clearance, the airborne fibre level is below 0.01 fibres per millilitre — and prohibit reoccupation until it is issued.
10. 10PPE: specify the respiratory protection for the removal — fit-tested negative-pressure or, for higher-risk friable work, powered or supplied-air respiratory protection — selected and maintained per AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716, with disposable coveralls removed and bagged at decontamination.
11. 11PPE: specify the supporting PPE — gloves, eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3 — and the procedure for its decontamination or disposal.
12. 12Administrative: confirm all workers hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) and the asbestos removal training for the licence class before the work, and notify the regulator of the licensed removal work as required.
13. 13Administrative: consult workers and health and safety representatives in preparing the plan, record the consultation, and keep the plan available at the workplace for the workers it covers.
14. 14Administrative: treat the plan as a living document — review and update it whenever the removal scope, method or site conditions change, after any incident, or when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern, and record the revision.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A licensed asbestos removalist is engaged to remove asbestos cement sheeting and some friable insulation from a plant room during a refurbishment, and recognises that a control plan must be prepared before the work begins. Using this template, the removalist records the licence class required — Class A, because friable asbestos is involved — and confirms the licence and a suitably qualified supervisor. The plan sets out the removal method for each material, the enclosure and negative pressure for the friable work, the wet methods and HEPA vacuuming, and the persons at risk. Because friable removal is involved, the PCBU who commissioned the work engages an independent licensed asbestos assessor, and the plan records the control air monitoring during removal and the clearance air monitoring against the 0.01 fibres per millilitre criterion. The plan documents the personal decontamination unit, the double-bagging and labelling of waste and its disposal at an authorised facility, and that the area will not be reoccupied until a clearance certificate is issued. A SWMS is prepared alongside the plan for the high risk construction work, the regulator is notified of the licensed removal, and the workers — trained and licensed for the class of work — are consulted and sign on. As the job runs, the monitoring results and any method changes are recorded, and the clearance certificate is obtained before the plant room is handed back.

Related legislation

• Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — the asbestos removal provisions requiring an asbestos removal control plan and the licence classes; the licensed asbestos assessor requirements for friable air monitoring and clearance; and the high risk construction work provisions requiring a SWMS for the disturbance of asbestos, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
• Clearance certificate requirements: a clearance certificate is issued only when the area is clear of visible asbestos contamination and, where air monitoring forms part of the clearance, the airborne fibre level is below 0.01 fibres per millilitre.
• Asbestos waste must be contained, labelled and disposed of at a facility authorised to accept asbestos in line with jurisdictional waste requirements.
• Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the asbestos removal, licensing and clearance provisions and Compliance Codes applying in place of the model instruments.

Frequently asked questions