According to the 1995 Workplace Health and safety Act, along with the 2008 Workplace Health and Safety Regulations that came in force from 1st January 2008, it has been made mandatory that all premises built before 1990 need to complete their asbestos workplace audit. They also need to put up the results on the work-site along with the year and month in which the audit was done.
According to Division 3 of Part 11of the 2008 Workplace Health and Safety Regulations, owners of structures and buildings, which are workplaces, will have to come into compliance till 1st January 2008. The Code of National Practice for Control and Management of Asbestos at the Workplace [2018 (2005): NOHSC] along with the Code for National Safe Removal of Asbestos [(2005): 2002] has in it the legislative requirements to be followed by employers of workplaces that have asbestos presence.
Under the 1995 Workplace Health and Safety Act, an owner is defined as one who has control over the workplace or manages it like a licensee, lessee, mortgagee in position or a company administrator or a receiver. It therefore becomes very critical for the business to state clearly as to with whom lies the obligation.
As per Part 7 of the Code of National Practice for the Control and Management of Asbestos at the Workplace [NOHSC: 2018 (2005)] the obligations of the owner are summarized as mentioned below.
• He must implement, develop and maintain the Management of Asbestos Plan.
• He needs to get the premises investigated for the presence of possible Asbestos Containing Material (ACM).
• He ought to assess and identify the condition with any associated risk of ACM
• He should put in place the measures to remove any possible ACM or else put measures in place to prevent exposure to asbestos.
• The control measures that are put in place as per the management plan should be implemented as early as possible and should stay for as long as the ACM remains in that place.
• Have repeated meeting and a health check ups of the people who are exposed to the ACM, such as occupants, contactors and workers.
• Information and training is to be provided for the ACM exposed people.
For owners of structures or buildings in Queensland who do not comply with the Codes of National Asbestos by 1st January 2008, they are prosecutable under Section 24 of the Workplace Safety and Health Act 1995. Obligation Discharge will come with 750 penalty units or one year’s imprisonment.
