General information about Brisbane’s and Queensland’s rules, not legal or safety advice. The official places to check are Brisbane City Council and asbestos.qld.gov.au.
Brisbane City Council’s resource recovery centres do not accept asbestos, so asbestos waste from a Brisbane home goes to a disposal site licensed to receive it, or into a plastic-lined industrial skip from a waste contractor. Getting it there is governed by Queensland’s regulated waste rules: how it is packed, how much one vehicle may carry without an environmental authority, and when waste tracking papers are needed.
Handling Read before you touch anything
- The national asbestos agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and that getting a professional to do the job is easier and safer.
- Queensland’s health page puts the danger plainly: “It is when asbestos is worked with or disturbed and asbestos fibres are released that the risk of developing an asbestos related disease is increased.”
- Queensland’s homeowner questions page says: “Never use power tools (such as power saws, drills, sanders and angle grinders) or high pressure water blasters on asbestos materials.” Queensland’s prohibited activities page adds two more that state law forbids when you are working with or removing asbestos-containing materials: compressed air or abrasive blasting, and a household vacuum cleaner, even one with a HEPA filter (only cleaners specially designed for asbestos work may be used), which the page calls very dangerous because they can release large numbers of asbestos fibres into the air. The national agency also says never to clean asbestos with anything abrasive, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding. Queensland’s renovating tips also tell you not to “Saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials.”
- In Queensland, asbestos waste must go to a disposal site licensed to receive it: a landfill that can lawfully take asbestos waste, usually run by your local council. It is illegal to put it in a domestic garbage bin. The other option Queensland lists is a plastic-lined industrial skip, which may be provided by a waste contractor holding an environmental authority to transport regulated waste.
What Brisbane City Council says
“Council’s resource recovery centres do not accept asbestos or materials containing asbestos.”
“Dumping asbestos in any bins, public places or Council’s resource recovery centres is illegal.”
“Certified contractors with regulatory tracking certificates can apply for approval to dispose of asbestos directly at Brisbane’s landfill. Public access to this site is not available.”
The council’s page also says people who do not comply may face fines of over $50,000, plus costs for legal and investigation work, as published on its page when checked on 8 October 2026. If you think someone is handling, removing or dumping asbestos improperly, the council asks you to contact it through its page.
Where it can go
Across Queensland, disposal happens at facilities run by local government and at privately owned and operated sites. Queensland’s disposal information page keeps a list of facilities, and it encourages you to contact a site before you go “to confirm details, fees, waste tracking requirements and any special arrangements before attempting to dispose of asbestos.” Its homeowner questions page also suggests asking your council whether you can dispose of asbestos as a domestic ratepayer, or only through a licensed waste contractor.
Two ways to package it
Queensland’s disposal page lists two options:
Wrapped and driven to the site
“Asbestos waste is double-wrapped in 0.2 mm thick plastic bags or sheeting, sealed with tape and labelled double wrapped and transported to a landfill site that accepts asbestos.” Its suggested label has three lines: “CAUTION - ASBESTOS”, “DO NOT DAMAGE OR OPEN BAG” and “DO NOT INHALE DUST”.
A lined skip
“Asbestos waste is placed into a plastic-lined industrial skip that may have been provided by a waste contractor with an environmental authority to transport regulated waste.”
Queensland’s procedure: asbestos transport and disposal
Every step of Queensland’s transport page, printed word for word and in order. The 13 QGOV line in it is the Queensland Government’s general enquiry number, not an emergency line.
- “The transport and disposal of asbestos waste in Queensland is regulated through one of two frameworks:”
- “the regulated waste framework or”
- “the contaminated land framework.”
- “The nature of the asbestos waste will determine the framework that applies.”
- “Asbestos waste is regulated and must be disposed of safely, quickly and correctly.”
- “You must comply with the following when transporting and disposing of asbestos waste in Queensland:”
- “An environmental authority is required for transporting more than 175kg of asbestos waste.”
- “Waste tracking documentation is required by all commercial operators transporting any quantity of asbestos waste, and by non-commercial individuals (homeowners) if the waste exceeds 250kg.”
- “Asbestos waste must be appropriately packaged.”
- “Asbestos waste must be disposed of at a DESI approved waste disposal site that is licenced to receive and dispose of asbestos.”
- “As a general guide, 175kg of typical flat asbestos cement sheet waste would occupy about a fifth of a normal household trailer.”
- “A quarter of a trailer would equate to approximately 250kg.”
- “An environmental authority is required for anyone transporting more than 175kg of asbestos waste”
- “An environmental authority for the Environmentally Relevant Activity of Regulated Waste Transport (ERA 57) is issued by the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation to transport regulated waste by vehicle.”
- “Homeowners and contractors do not need an environmental authority to transport 175kg or less of asbestos waste.”
- “If you are transporting asbestos waste on a commercial basis, you must record and submit waste tracking documentation to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.”
- “This documentation is mandatory, regardless of the quantity of asbestos waste being transported in a vehicle.”
- “Asbestos waste being transported on a non-commercial basis requires waste tracking documentation if there is more than 250kg of asbestos in the vehicle.”
- “To apply for an environmental authority and waste tracking documentation to transport asbestos waste, visit Department of Environment, Science and Innovation or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68).”
- “The contaminated land framework may apply rather than regulated waste framework where the asbestos waste is asbestos contaminated soil.”
- “Land that is contaminated with a hazardous contaminant, including asbestos, may require listing on the department’s Environmental Management Register (EMR) or the Contaminated Land Register (CLR).”
- “Where the property is not listed on the EMR or CLR, and asbestos is identified in the soil, a duty to notify (PDF, 351KB) the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation may exist.”
- “Information about the contaminated land framework is found on the Queensland Government website .”
- “Where land is already listed on the EMR, asbestos contaminated soil should be managed under a soil disposal permit process.”
- “Once land is listed on the EMR/CLR, it is an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 to remove and treat/dispose of that soil without a Soil Disposal Permit (SDP).”
- “A SDP is obtained by application to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.”
- “Find more information on applying for an SDP .”
- “Asbestos in soil that is moved under an SDP must be done so in accordance with the conditions of that specific SDP.”
Queensland’s warnings in this procedure
- “Homeowners and contractors do not need an environmental authority to transport 175kg or less of asbestos waste.”
- “Once land is listed on the EMR/CLR, it is an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 to remove and treat/dispose of that soil without a Soil Disposal Permit (SDP).”
Reproduced every step, word for word, from Requirements for transporting asbestos, on asbestos.qld.gov.au, under its Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
One of Queensland’s worked examples
“A homeowner has removed ACM from their own home with a total of 230kg. The homeowner is transporting the ACM to a licensed landfill themselves. An environmental authority is required as the volume is greater than 175kg. Waste tracking is not required as the transportation is being undertaken on a non-commercial basis with less than 250kg.”
The weights matter more than the size of the job: Queensland’s rough guide is that 175 kg of flat asbestos cement sheet fills about a fifth of a normal household trailer.
Asking a licensed removalist
When a licensed removalist does the job, Queensland’s regulation makes the waste part of it: the removalist must make sure the waste is contained and labelled before it leaves the removal area, and disposed of as soon as practicable at a site authorised to accept it. Ask how the waste from your job will be packed and where it will go.