Manage asbestos

The Queensland Government protects the health and wellbeing of workers, contractors and the community by ensuring asbestos-containing materials are managed safely and appropriately.

Government departments are responsible for many assets that service Queenslanders, including buildings (workplaces and domestic premises), land, vehicles, vessels, infrastructure, plant and equipment.

Our long-term objective is that all assets departments manage or control are free of asbestos-containing materials.

Until then, we'll manage all asbestos-containing materials in our assets appropriately to protect the people who occupy, service and visit our assets from exposure to respirable asbestos fibres.

Policy

Our ongoing commitment to effective asbestos management is supported by the recently updated Queensland Government Asbestos Management Policy for its Assets (PDF, 559.2 KB) .

The May 2021 edition replaces the Queensland Government Asbestos Management Policy for its Assets (2014), which replaced the Asbestos Management and Control Policy for Government Buildings (2011).

The Policy:

• applies to all government departments
• applies to all asset types, including land, as asbestos can be found in more than just buildings
• is supported by the following Implementation Standards:
  • Minimum Requirements for Asbestos Management (Implementation Standard 1)
  • Minimum Asbestos Register Data (Implementation Standard 2)
• requires asbestos in government residential housing (e.g. employee housing, social housing) to be managed to a standard above the equivalent statutory requirements for privately-owned residential housing
• does not apply to government owned corporations, statutory bodies and statutory authorities (excluding hospitals) or other government entities. However, they may, by their own choice or at the direction of their administering Minister or department, apply the policy.

Read more about managing asbestos, licensing, legislative requirements and practical guidance.

Implementation Standards

• Implementation Standard 1: Minimum Requirements for Asbestos Management (PDF, 1.34 MB)(government login required)
• Implementation Standard 2: Minimum Asbestos Register Data (PDF, 246 KB)(government login required)

Built Environment Materials Information Register (BEMIR)

Departments are required to record specific data relating to asbestos in the asbestos register(s) for their workplace buildings.  QBuild, a business unit of the Queensland Department of Energy and Public Works, provides a range of asbestos management services to departments. This includes managing the BEMIR system, which provides a multi-department asbestos register for its clients and complies with policy requirements.

Departments can access BEMIR at Built Environment Materials Information Register. You need a login and password for BEMIR system access.

More information

• email BEMIR@epw.qld.gov.au for more information about BEMIR
• Find out more about QBuild

Useful documents

• Work Area Access Permit form (DOCX, 56 KB)
• Asbestos Survey Minimum Data Collection Requirements template (XLSX, 226.8 KB)

Useful resources

• Queensland Government Asbestos website
• Demolition & Asbestos Industry Association (Qld) Inc. (non-government link)
• Asbestos Disease Support Society (non-government link)

For further information email BCMSecretariat@epw.qld.gov.au