Asbestos Awareness Training

The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 requires that a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that they provide any information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety arising from their work.

What training is accepted as meeting the requirement for asbestos awareness training?

Any training undertaken prior to 1 January 2008 is not accepted and the worker must be retrained by a registered training organisation accredited to deliver 11084NAT - Course in Asbestos Awareness.

Accredited training courses undertaken through an accredited registered training organisation, listed below, is accepted and workers who have undertaken this training do not need to be retrained.

Any of the following training courses completed by the worker are accepted as meeting the requirement to undertake training required by section 445 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (the Regulation):

• CPCCDE3014A - Remove non-friable asbestos;
• CPCCDE3015A - Remove friable asbestos;
• CPCCBC4051A - Supervise asbestos removal; and
• CPCCBC5014A - Conduct asbestos assessment associated with removal.

Who is required to do this training?

All workers who work in the occupations listed in the Minister's declaration of occupations, regardless of how long they have worked in the job, their level of seniority, their qualifications and regardless of whether they are licensed or an apprentice are required to complete training.

The list of occupations declared by the Minister includes:

In addition to the above list of workers, a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure that any worker who the person conducting a business or undertaking reasonably believes will work with asbestos or asbestos containing materials must complete training in asbestos awareness.

There is no definition of what 'reasonably believes' means, however it is commonly used in legislation. It is based on what is reasonable in the circumstances. When in doubt whether a worker may work with asbestos or be exposed to asbestos fibres, it is better to ensure the worker is trained in asbestos awareness.

There is no definition of what 'work with asbestos or asbestos containing materials' means, so how this is interpreted relies on the ordinary meaning of the words. WorkSafe ACT interprets this as anybody who might:

• penetrate or disturb asbestos in any way, for example, breaking, cutting, drilling or sanding internal and external walls, sheeting, ceilings;
• penetrate or disturb asbestos by using power tools or high pressure water blasters;
• work in the vicinity of friable asbestos material, including damaged or crumbling bonded asbestos;
• handle asbestos such as through professional laundering of clothes or soft furnishing that have been in contact with asbestos, for example builders clothes or furnishing contaminated during unsafe building work; and
• work where loose fill asbestos insulation may be present, such as in ceiling cavities or subfloors of homes constructed before 1980.

This would include all building and construction workers.

It would also include workers who may not physically handle asbestos or work in construction, but could be in the vicinity of work that is being undertaken, where there is a risk of exposure. For example, this might include a designer or colour consultant who conducts in home consultations during renovation work on pre-1990 homes.

It would also include facility and corporate managers who are responsible for ensuring their premises has an asbestos management plan in place.

However, this would not include workers who might:

• work on asbestos in a theoretical sense for example academics and researchers who do not come into contact with asbestos; and
• work in a building that contains asbestos, such as office workers in pre-2004 buildings.

However, any worker who has responsibilities for ensuring other workers in an office context are not exposed to asbestos, such as ensuring the premises built before 2004 are maintained in good condition, or through managing or arranging repairs, refurbishment and renovations must be trained in asbestos awareness.

Do workers need an asbestos awareness training card?

No. Some registered training organisations who deliver asbestos awareness training do issue cards, however cards are not mandatory and the statement of attainment for completing 11084NAT - Course in asbestos awareness is sufficient evidence that a person has completed the mandatory training required by section 445 of the Regulation.

WorkSafe ACT would accept a digital copy of the statement of attainment such as a scanned copy or photograph stored on a smart phone or tablet as being evidence of completion of this training.

Section 445 (3) of the Regulation provides that a person conducting a business or undertaking rather than a worker, must ensure that a record is kept of this training being undertaken by the worker.

How do I replace my asbestos awareness card or statement of attainment?

WorkSafe ACT does not issue asbestos awareness training statements of attainment or cards. If a worker has lost, damaged or had their asbestos awareness statement of attainment or card stolen, they will need to go to the registered training organisation who delivered the training in order to have the statement of attainment or card replaced.

What approach will be taken when an inspector visits a worksite?

WorkSafe ACT inspector may ask to see a record maintained by the person conducting a business or undertaking that their workers have been trained in one of the approved asbestos awareness training courses as required under section 445 of the Regulation.

If a person conducting a business or undertaking cannot provide such a record they will be allowed a reasonable period of time to produce the record. Initially, in the event that a person conducting a business or undertaking cannot produce such a record, the person conducting a business or undertaking will be issued with an improvement notice requiring them to have their workers trained by a certain date.

A person conducting a business or undertaking must meet the requirements of such notices by producing evidence that their workers have completed the mandatory training course.

Failure to comply with the requirements of such an improvement notice without reasonable excuse may result in an infringement notice being issued for breaching the requirements of an improvement notice. In that event a new improvement notice will then be issued.

Eligibility to provide training

11084NAT - Course in Asbestos Awareness is owned by the ACT Government. If a registered training organisation wishes to provide training in this vocational education and training course, they will need to apply to WorkSafe ACT for a licence.

In order for an application to deliver 11084NAT to be approved the applicant must

• be a registered training organisation registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority; and,
• ensure that any person appointed to deliver this training holds all the following as a minimum requirement:
• Certificate IV Training and Assessment (TAA40104 or TAE40110); and,
• Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety or equivalent; and,
• a statement of attainment for one of the following asbestos related units of competency:
• CPCCDE3014A - Remove non-friable asbestos;
• CPCCDE3015A - Remove friable asbestos; or,
• CPCCDE4008 - Supervise asbestos removal.

List of registered training organisations

List of registered training organisations approved to deliver 11084NAT - Course in asbestos awareness can be found on the Training.gov.au website.

Forms and fees

To apply for a licence to deliver this training, please complete an Application to deliver 11084NAT - Course in asbestos awareness (DOC 48KB) or (PDF 192KB).

The fee for approval to deliver 11084NAT - Course in asbestos awareness is a one off fee. The fee is $10,000 for registered training organisations who intend to deliver training in the ACT only. The fee to deliver training in the ACT and other states and territories is $15,000. These fees include the provision of all training content materials and an initial audit performed by the ACT Government.

Approval to deliver 11084NAT - Course in asbestos awareness includes a stipulation that the registered training organisation agrees to be subject to an annual audit of the course delivery to ensure that terms of approval to deliver the Course are being met. This annual audit incurs a fee of $1,000 for registered training organisations in the ACT and $2000 for registered training organisations outside the ACT at the cost of the registered training organisation.