General information about Queensland’s rules, not legal or safety advice. The official place to check is asbestos.qld.gov.au, and the regulations themselves are on legislation.qld.gov.au.
In Queensland, crumbly (friable) asbestos may only be removed by a removalist with a class A licence, whoever owns the building. Bonded asbestos of 10 square metres or less needs no licence; above that, a business needs a class B or class A licence, and a homeowner needs a certificate approved by Queensland Health or a licensed contractor.
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.
Two words decide most of it
Queensland’s Public Health Regulation, the law that covers a homeowner working at home, defines both terms, and “ACM” in it means any material, object, product or debris containing asbestos. The Work Health and Safety Regulation uses the words friable and non-friable to mean the same split.
“friable ACM means ACM that, when dry, can be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to powder by hand pressure.”
“bonded ACM means ACM, other than friable ACM, that contains a bonding compound reinforced with asbestos fibres.”
Bonded material does not always stay bonded. Queensland’s minor renovation guide says that where a bonded product has deteriorated so far that very light pressure, such as crushing it in your hand, turns it to dust, it should be treated as friable. Two materials found in homes are friable from the start: some felt carpet underlay, and low density asbestos fibre board, which Queensland says must only be removed by a class A licensed removalist.
Two laws, depending on where the work is
Queensland’s homeowner page says the removal of asbestos from homes and from workplaces “has different obligations under different laws.” Work at a workplace falls under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011. Work by a homeowner at home falls under the Public Health Regulation 2018, which applies to a “non-workplace area”, defined as “a place other than a workplace under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.”
The questions, in order
Is any of it friable?
Then it is class A work. At a home, the Public Health Regulation says a person must not remove friable material “unless the person holds a class A asbestos removal licence”. At a workplace, the Work Health and Safety Regulation says the same for friable asbestos and, with an exception the regulation sets out, for asbestos-contaminated dust or debris.
How big is the whole job?
Queensland measures the entire job, not each section of it. Its homeowner questions page adds: “The job cannot be broken down by removing less than 10m² on different days to avoid the need for a certificate.”
Is a business doing it, or the homeowner?
A tradesperson or other business operator removing 10 m² or less of bonded material needs no licence but must still take safety precautions; above 10 m², the work can only be done under a class B or class A licence issued by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
A homeowner or owner-builder may remove 10 m² or less of bonded material without a certificate, with safety precautions. For more than 10 m², the Public Health Regulation says a person must not remove the material “unless the person holds a current certificate under this section.” If more than one person is doing the removing, that applies to each of them.
The homeowner’s certificate
The regulation lets Queensland Health’s chief executive set up or approve training arrangements, so that a person who completes the training can obtain a certificate. Queensland’s certificate page lists the approved courses; the first is “Module CPCCDE3014 - Remove non-friable asbestos offered by Registered Training Organisations”. The certificate covers bonded material only. It never covers friable asbestos, which stays class A work.
Class A, class B and what comes with each
“A class B asbestos removal licence is required for either: removal of more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos or asbestos containing material (ACM); or ACD associated with the removal of more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos or ACM.”
A class A licence covers friable asbestos and asbestos-contaminated dust or debris, apart from the two kinds of dust or debris the same page lists separately. For class A work at a home, the licensed removalist must make sure an independent licensed asbestos assessor does air monitoring of the removal area. After licensed work, a clearance inspection checks that the area is safe for normal use: for class A work it is done by an independent licensed asbestos assessor, which Queensland says means one “not involved in the removal of the asbestos and not involved in a business involved in the removal of the asbestos”, and for class B work by an independent competent person who “must not have been involved in the removal of the asbestos”. A clearance certificate is then given in writing.
For small jobs the paperwork is lighter. Queensland says the regulation does not require a written clearance certificate after removing less than 10 square metres of bonded asbestos, but dust and debris must still be cleaned up before the area is used again.
Rules that may move
Safe Work Australia says it “is undertaking a comprehensive review of the model WHS asbestos framework, including the model WHS Regulations, Codes of Practice, guidance and the model WHS Act where relevant.” Queensland’s rules on this page are as published when it was checked, on 8 October 2026. Check asbestos.qld.gov.au for any change before you rely on them.
Asking a licensed removalist
Queensland’s asbestos website publishes details of the businesses that hold class A and class B licences. A licensed removalist can look at the material with you, tell you which class of licence the job needs, and show you the licence it holds.