Builders constructed many commercial and industrial properties in NSW before Australia banned asbestos at the end of 2003. That history creates an ongoing legal obligation today. Anyone managing or controlling one of these workplaces needs an accurate asbestos register. This protects workers, contractors and tenants from unexpected exposure, not just the business from a compliance breach. This article explains who must keep a register and what it needs to contain. It also covers why an outdated one creates real risk during renovation, sale or demolition.
Who Must Maintain an Asbestos Register in NSW?
A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) with management or control of a workplace carries this duty. They must prepare and maintain an asbestos register wherever asbestos exists, or reasonably could exist, at that site. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW) sets this requirement out clearly. It implements the model WHS laws that most Australian jurisdictions have adopted.
In practice, the property owner or facility manager usually holds this duty. However, a tenant or head contractor can carry it too, depending on who controls the workplace under the relevant lease or contract. Builders used asbestos widely in construction materials until 2003. Because of this, almost any commercial or industrial building from before that date deserves treatment as a likely candidate for a register, even without confirmed asbestos on site.
What Must an Asbestos Register Include?
A compliant register must record the location, type and condition of every identified piece of asbestos or asbestos-containing material (ACM) at the workplace. It also needs to flag where asbestos is assumed rather than confirmed, since testing every building element without disturbing it isn't always possible.
Location, Type and Condition Details
Each entry should pinpoint exactly where the material sits within the building. It should also record whether the material is friable or non-friable asbestos, along with its current physical condition. Condition matters a great deal here. Deteriorating or damaged material poses a far greater exposure risk than material that remains stable and undisturbed.
Assumed Versus Confirmed Asbestos
A building might predate 2003 without having undergone full testing. In that case, the register should record materials as assumed asbestos until sampling confirms otherwise. This keeps workers and contractors appropriately cautious, even where testing hasn't reached every part of the site.
Accessibility for Workers and Contractors
The register needs to stay readily accessible to workers, contractors and anyone else who might disturb building materials during their work. Locking the register away in a filing cabinet defeats its purpose almost as thoroughly as never creating one.
When Does an Asbestos Register Need to Be Reviewed?
Certain triggers should prompt an immediate review of an asbestos register. Finding new asbestos during renovation, refurbishment or demolition is one obvious trigger. Removing, encapsulating, sealing or otherwise disturbing existing asbestos is another, since the register must reflect the material's current status rather than its condition when someone first prepared it.
Beyond these specific triggers, NSW guidance expects businesses to review registers periodically as part of routine workplace health and safety management. Nobody should leave a register untouched indefinitely. A hazardous materials survey often gives the most reliable way to confirm a register still reflects reality. This matters particularly for older commercial and industrial assets that have been through multiple fit-outs over the years.
What Happens When a Register Is Incomplete or Out of Date?
An incomplete or outdated register creates two distinct problems. First, it exposes the business to WHS enforcement action, because regulators treat an inaccurate register as a clear failure of a statutory duty. Second, and often more costly in practice, it raises the odds that workers or contractors disturb asbestos nobody flagged.
This second risk tends to surface during renovation or demolition, when crews open up walls, ceilings and flooring without warning. An unplanned asbestos disturbance can halt a project immediately. It can also trigger emergency decontamination and expose the business to both regulatory penalties and compensation claims. Property transactions get complicated too, since buyers and their advisers increasingly expect an up-to-date register as part of due diligence.
Conclusion
An asbestos register is not a one-off compliance document. It needs the right level of detail from the start, and it needs updating whenever site conditions change. Property owners, facility managers and contractors who treat the register as a living record, rather than a box-ticking exercise, put themselves in a far stronger position when renovation, sale or an unexpected discovery puts it to the test.
At Nova Group Pacific, we help commercial and industrial property owners across Australia establish and maintain accurate asbestos registers, backed by our Asbestos Management services. Contact us to arrange a hazardous materials survey and bring your register up to date.
