Asbestos Removal (Licensed) SWMS
Class A and Class B licensed asbestos removal including friable and bonded ACM, decontamination, and clearance.
SWMS variants reference your state's WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
This SWMS covers licensed asbestos removal work — Class A friable and Class B non-friable removal in excess of 10 square metres — performed by contractors holding the appropriate asbestos removal licence under r. 485 of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW). It is written for licensed asbestos removalists, asbestos supervisors (who must hold a Class A or Class B supervisor licence), and asbestos assessors (licensed to conduct air monitoring and clearance inspections per r. 509). It is NOT for in-situ management (see the Asbestos Management SWMS) or for below-threshold non-friable removal (covered separately).
Licensed removal engages two High Risk Construction Work categories under Schedule 1: Category 12 (asbestos work) always applies; Category 11 (confined spaces) applies where removal occurs in a tank, plant enclosure, or underfloor void. All removal work is governed by the Code of Practice: How to Safely Remove Asbestos (SafeWork Australia, 2020), which becomes legally binding under s. 26A of the WHS Act from 1 July 2026. Class A work — any friable removal and any work on friable material — requires negative-pressure enclosures, supplied-air breathing apparatus in specific circumstances, independent air monitoring, and a clearance certificate before re-occupancy. Class B work — non-friable removal above 10 m2 — requires specified containment, exclusion zones, air monitoring where risk-assessed, and clearance inspection. Under r. 298 the SWMS is mandatory for any asbestos removal work regardless of quantity. This document is CIH-authored against the current regulatory baseline.
Hazards identified
14 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Inhalation of fibres causing asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma; fibre release is inherent to removal and the entire control regime is built around minimising release and monitoring exposure.
Catastrophic fibre release to external environment; re-occupancy delayed pending decontamination and re-clearance; regulatory investigation and potential Category 1 prosecution.
Unauthorised exposure of third parties to uncontrolled asbestos fibre; extended air monitoring and health surveillance obligations; regulatory breach of r. 449.
Spread of asbestos fibres to adjacent areas through inadequate decontamination unit design or failure to follow the three-stage decontamination protocol; expands the contaminated footprint and the clearance scope.
Worker exposure through inadequate face seal, torn coverall, or incorrect RPE selection; sensitivity of RPE to facial hair and fit is well documented.
Fall through or from fragile AC roof sheeting; AC roofs lose structural integrity with age and require fall-management controls under HRCW Category 3 in addition to asbestos controls.
Compound hazard of confined space (atmosphere, egress) and asbestos; dual HRCW categories engaged simultaneously under Categories 11 and 12.
Elevated core temperature leading to heat exhaustion or heat stroke; cognitive impairment increases the probability of control failures; a recurrent injury mechanism in asbestos removal.
Contaminated waste entering the general waste stream; offence under POEO Act; reputational and financial exposure for the contractor; secondary contamination of waste facility workers.
Fire propagation in plastic-lined enclosures with severe fibre release; egress restricted; potential for multiple fatalities in high-containment environments.
Cuts, lacerations, and crush injuries from hand tools used for AC fixing removal; compounded hazard due to protective clothing reducing dexterity.
Fibre transfer to plant, tools, and site vehicles; contamination of the contractor's yard and subsequent job sites; ongoing liability.
Independent assessor requirements in r. 475-481 breached; exposures go unmeasured; clearance certificates invalid; return of site to unsuspecting occupants.
Premises re-occupied while residual fibres present; exposures to occupants; offence under r. 480 of the WHS Regulation 2025.
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Licensing: the PCBU holds a current Class A or Class B asbestos removal licence as appropriate to the scope; the supervisor holds the corresponding supervisor licence and is present on site per r. 459; every worker has completed asbestos removal training (CPCCDE3014A non-friable or CPCCDE3015A friable) and medical examination per r. 435.
- 2Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP) prepared for every job per r. 449 of the WHS Regulation 2025: covers scope, method, enclosure design, air monitoring, decontamination, waste management, and clearance. The ARCP supplements this SWMS and is shared with the Principal Contractor and independent assessor.
- 3Notification per r. 466: SafeWork NSW notified at least 5 days before any licensed asbestos removal work commences; notification includes site, scope, licence number, dates, and supervisor; copy retained with site records.
- 4Exclusion zone per r. 449 and the Code of Practice: signage, barrier tape, and physical hoarding at the perimeter; exclusion zone extends beyond enclosure per risk assessment; written notification to adjacent tenancies and building occupants.
- 5Negative pressure enclosure for Class A work: three-stage decontamination unit, smoke test before work starts to verify enclosure integrity, pressure differential maintained at -5 Pa minimum measured with a calibrated gauge, HEPA filtered extraction at 5-8 air changes per hour, backup extraction on standby.
- 6Class B containment: hoarding, floor and wall protection, exclusion zone, and appropriate dust suppression (wet methods per the Code of Practice); full negative pressure enclosure not required but dust containment must prevent fibre release beyond the work area.
- 7RPE selection per the Code of Practice: P3 half-mask for most non-friable work with low-medium risk; full-face P3 for friable or enclosed Class A; supplied-air (SABA) where Class A risk assessment indicates; fit-testing annually per AS/NZS 1715 with a clean-shaven requirement; supervised donning and doffing.
- 8Wet methods: all removal with wet methods (water spray, surfactant additive) unless specifically risk-assessed as inappropriate; dry removal only permitted where wet methods would create a greater hazard (e.g. electrical, structural integrity) and justified in the ARCP.
- 9Decontamination unit: three-stage (dirty, shower, clean) at the enclosure exit for Class A; shower water filtered or disposed as asbestos waste; HEPA vacuum available at each stage; workers exit progressively removing PPE at each stage per the Code of Practice protocol.
- 10Air monitoring per r. 474: independent licensed asbestos assessor conducts control monitoring during work, background monitoring, and leak testing on enclosures; clearance monitoring per r. 480 before re-occupancy; all results retained 30 years; workers' exposure results provided on request.
- 11Waste management: all ACM waste double-wrapped in 200 micron polyethylene with asbestos warning labels; drummed or bagged as appropriate; transported under waste tracking to a licensed asbestos waste facility; consignment notes retained for 5 years per POEO (Waste) Regulation 2014.
- 12Clearance inspection and certificate per r. 480: independent licensed asbestos assessor inspects the area; clearance air monitoring achieves below 0.01 fibres/mL; written clearance certificate issued before the area is returned to use. Certificate retained for 30 years.
- 13Falls from height: where removal is on a fragile AC roof, HRCW Category 3 engages and fall protection per the Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces is mandatory; no worker accesses an AC roof without a written fall-management plan (edge protection, crawl boards, or fall-arrest).
- 14Heat management: rest-work cycles in enclosures, cooling areas available, water pre-hydration and replenishment, withdrawal at early signs of heat stress, worker buddy system within the enclosure for early intervention.
- 15Emergency response: fire protection in enclosures (CO2 extinguishers, no combustibles in enclosure), rescue plan for confined-space components, muster point and incident notification procedure with SafeWork NSW under r. 464 for any notifiable incident.
- 16Health monitoring per r. 435: all asbestos removal workers receive pre-employment and annual medical examination by a registered medical practitioner; records retained 40 years and transferred to the worker on separation.
Applicable Codes of Practice
Primary authority for licensed asbestos removal. Binding under s. 26A from 1 July 2026. Defines enclosure, decontamination, air monitoring, and clearance procedures that every licensed removal must follow.
Applies at the transition point between in-situ management and removal; informs the register update and re-instatement after removal.
Applies to every AC roof sheet removal where fall risk exceeds 2 metres.
Applies where removal is inside a tank, plant enclosure, or underfloor void meeting the AS 2865 confined space definition.
Governs the selection, fit-testing, and maintenance of P3 and supplied-air RPE used by licensed removalists.
Technical performance standard for the respirators used in licensed removal work.
Laboratory method for confirming asbestos type and quantity during pre-removal sampling and post-removal clearance.
Governs the interstate movement and tracking of asbestos waste from the removal site to the licensed disposal facility.
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Licensed removal is by definition Category 12 HRCW — the entire scope is removal or likely disturbance of asbestos, regardless of friability or quantity.
Removal inside tanks, plant enclosures, boiler insulation, and underfloor voids engages Category 11 alongside Category 12. Both SWMS and AS 2865 permit-to-work requirements apply.
AC roof sheet removal exposes workers to falls exceeding 2 metres through degraded fragile roofing; Category 3 controls required in parallel.
Licensed asbestos removal is one of the most tightly regulated activities in Australian WHS law. Failure to hold the correct licence class (r. 458), prepare an ARCP (r. 449), notify SafeWork NSW (r. 466), arrange independent air monitoring (r. 474), or obtain a clearance certificate (r. 480) are each separate offences. Maximum penalties for a body corporate range from $30,000 to $60,000 per offence depending on the specific regulation; Category 1 prosecutions under s. 31 of the WHS Act apply where reckless conduct exposes a worker or member of the public to risk of death or serious injury, with penalties up to $3.993 million for a body corporate and 5 years' imprisonment. Licence suspension or cancellation under r. 497 is a likely outcome of any serious breach; SafeWork NSW publishes a prosecutions register including asbestos offences.
Who this is for
- →Class A asbestos removalists licensed under r. 458 of the WHS Regulation 2025 performing friable asbestos removal.
- →Class B asbestos removalists licensed under r. 458 performing non-friable removal above the 10 m2 threshold.
- →Asbestos removal supervisors (Class A or B supervisor licence) managing removal projects on site.
- →Licensed asbestos assessors performing air monitoring and clearance inspection work under r. 509.
- →Principal Contractors engaging licensed asbestos removalists and verifying incoming SWMS and ARCP documentation.
What you receive
- ✓Editable Microsoft Word document (.docx) with licensed removal fields and ARCP integration points.
- ✓Title page with PCBU name, ABN, licence number and class, site address, supervisor, and revision date fields.
- ✓Hazard register with the 14 hazards listed above — each with consequence, inherent risk, controls, and residual risk on a 5x5 matrix.
- ✓Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP) template aligned with r. 449 content requirements.
- ✓SafeWork NSW notification template per r. 466.
- ✓Air monitoring and clearance record templates aligned with r. 474 and r. 480.
- ✓Waste consignment and tracking template aligned with POEO (Waste) Regulation 2014.
- ✓Worker sign-on register (blank) with licence and training verification columns.
- ✓Legislation schedule pre-populated for NSW with state-variance table for VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT, ACT.
- ✓Review-and-update log for tracking SWMS amendments across removal jobs.
Worked example
A Class B licensed contractor is engaged to remove 380 m2 of non-friable AC corrugated roof sheeting from a 1974-built warehouse in Smithfield, NSW prior to a commercial fit-out. Scope: full roof strip, new Colorbond installation after clearance. Before commencement this SWMS is issued alongside the ARCP; SafeWork NSW notified 7 days ahead of start. Independent licensed asbestos assessor engaged for pre-work background air monitoring, daily control monitoring, and clearance inspection. Fall management: perimeter edge protection and crawl boards across the roof (Category 3 engaged); harness and fall-arrest for workers outside the crawl-board lane. Removal method: wet spray, hand-removal of fixings, individual sheets placed in double-wrap 200 micron polyethylene, sealed, labelled, lowered to ground via a materials hoist. Waste tracked to a licensed asbestos landfill in Eastern Creek with consignment notes retained. Clearance certificate issued on day 6; re-roofing commences on day 7. All records including air monitoring retained for 30 years.
Related legislation
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) — s. 19 primary duty of care; s. 31 Category 1 offence for reckless conduct; s. 26A codes of practice legally binding from 1 July 2026.
- WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) — Chapter 8 asbestos (r. 419-535), r. 449 (ARCP), r. 458 (licences), r. 459 (supervisor on site), r. 466 (notification), r. 474 (air monitoring), r. 480 (clearance), r. 485 (licensing thresholds), r. 509 (assessor licensing), r. 435 (health monitoring).
- Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) — waste classification and disposal of asbestos material.
- POEO (Waste) Regulation 2014 (NSW) — waste tracking and licensed disposal facility requirements.
- National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste) Measure — interstate movement of asbestos waste.
- Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) — development approval implications for removal as part of regulated building work.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need both a Class A and Class B licence to remove both friable and non-friable asbestos?
A Class A licence covers both friable and non-friable asbestos removal. A Class B licence is limited to non-friable removal above 10 m2 only. If your scope is friable or mixed, a Class A is required. Class B contractors cannot accept friable scope and must refer that work to a Class A licensee.
Can the asbestos assessor be our own employee?
No. Under r. 475 the air monitoring and clearance assessor must be independent — not the same PCBU as the removal contractor, and not an employee of the removal contractor. This independence is foundational to the integrity of the clearance certificate. Engage a separate licensed asbestos assessor for every removal job.
What's the minimum pre-work notification period to SafeWork NSW?
Under r. 466 the minimum notification is 5 days before the removal work commences. Emergency removal work (e.g. after a fire or storm damage) has separate provisions requiring notification as soon as reasonably practicable. Submit notifications through the SafeWork NSW portal and keep the confirmation with the ARCP.
Do workers inside a negative pressure enclosure need supplied-air respirators?
Not in all cases. For most Class A friable removal, full-face P3 respirators are sufficient based on risk assessment. Supplied-air (SABA) is required where the risk assessment identifies exposures likely to exceed the capability of P3 RPE — for example in confined-space removal, at very high contamination levels, or for extended-duration work. The ARCP documents the RPE selection and the risk-assessment basis.
What clearance level must be achieved before re-occupancy?
Under r. 480 and the Code of Practice: How to Safely Remove Asbestos, the clearance level is below 0.01 fibres/mL measured by the independent licensed assessor using the NOHSC membrane filter method. The clearance certificate must be issued in writing before the area is returned to normal use, and the certificate must be retained for 30 years.
Are clearance certificates valid for future work or only for the specific removal job?
Valid only for the specific removal scope. If the area is disturbed again (a subsequent removal, a demolition, a fit-out), new clearance monitoring is required. Clearance certificates are not general 'asbestos-free' declarations — they certify that the specific removal scope has been completed and the designated area is fit for re-occupancy at the time of issue.
Document details
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