Between them, the two sets of regulations ask for four things: keep the asbestos apart from other rubbish where that is reasonably practicable, wrap it so fibres cannot escape, mark it, and tell whoever receives it what it is. The Health (Asbestos) Regulations have no marking rule of their own; regulation 44 of the controlled waste regulations, as at 10 June 2020, sets the label’s words, “CAUTION ASBESTOS”, in letters at least 50 mm high.
General informationGeneral information from WA’s regulations and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s fact sheet, not legal advice. The copies of the regulations read here are dated, and each date is shown beside its rules; the current text is on the Western Australian Legislation website. For controlled waste, the Government of Western Australia names the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
Asbestos safety
The national Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in Western Australia the law sets a limit: WorkSafe WA says a homeowner may take out up to 10 square metres of non-friable material from their own home, and must follow strict safety steps in doing it. The national agency adds that a professional makes the job easier, safer and often cheaper. Its rule for the waste: it goes only to a landfill site licensed to take it, and a household rubbish bin can bring a fine.
No safe level of exposure to asbestos exists, WorkSafe WA says. It reserves friable asbestos in any amount, and non-friable asbestos over 10 m², for a licensed asbestos removalist only, and tells homeowners in WA that the waste has to be handled safely, moved properly and delivered to a licensed asbestos disposal facility.
WA’s health advice and the national agency warn against some methods. HealthyWA says high-pressure water and air cannot be used on asbestos products. The national agency warns against cleaning an asbestos cement roof, or any asbestos material, with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, scrubbing and sanding included. For its own state’s homeowners, Queensland’s government asbestos site lists “Saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials” among things not to do.
The two sets of rules, side by side
| The step | Health (Asbestos) Regulations | Controlled Waste Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Keep it separate | Separated from other material for disposal, where reasonably practicable (regulation 11). | Separated from other material for disposal, where that is reasonably practicable (regulation 44). |
| Wrap it | Wrapped in plastic so fibres cannot enter the air, or contained another way the Chief Health Officer approves in writing (regulation 11). | Wrapped or otherwise contained so fibres cannot enter the air while it travels by road (regulation 44). |
| Mark it | No marking rule. The regulation 12 duty to inform may be met by a label or otherwise. | Labelled or marked “CAUTION ASBESTOS” in letters at least 50 mm high (regulation 44). |
| Tell the receiver | Anyone handing it over for disposal must inform the other person (regulation 12). | Anyone taking it to a waste facility or an approved place must tell the operator it is or contains asbestos (regulation 45). |
Under the Health (Asbestos) Regulations, transporting asbestos-containing material, or handing it to someone else to dispose of, is an offence unless the separating and wrapping conditions are met. The penalty printed for regulations 11 and 12 is a fine of $10 000 each, in the copy as at 29 September 2020.
The trip itself
The controlled waste regulations license certain carriers of controlled waste, but regulation 3(5) narrows what applies to asbestos on the road: only that subregulation, the asbestos provisions in Part 3 Division 6, and the penalty in regulation 53. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s fact sheet reads that the plain way: carrying asbestos on a road needs neither a controlled waste carrier licence nor a controlled waste tracking form.
What Division 6 does require is in the table above, plus one rule about the destination. Under regulation 43, disposing of asbestos-containing material anywhere other than a waste facility is an offence, unless the place has been approved by the CEO under regulation 46 and the material is disposed of as the CEO directs. The CEO can approve such a place in writing only where the circumstances of a particular case warrant it.
To find a facility, WorkSafe WA points to a search tool kept by the national Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency.
Penalties, as at the dates of the documents
- Controlled Waste Regulations, regulation 53, as at 10 June 2020: a penalty of $5 000 for an offence against the regulations.
- The department’s fact sheet, as read on 8 October 2026: on-the-spot fines of $250 or $500, or a court fine of up to $5 000, and up to $25 000 for a corporation.
- Health (Asbestos) Regulations, as at 29 September 2020: a fine of $10 000 printed for each of regulations 11 and 12, and $1 000 for each further offence where an offence continues.
The fact sheet adds that much larger penalties can follow under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 when illegal disposal causes an offence such as pollution.
What goes in the wrapping
The national agency counts as asbestos waste anything contaminated with asbestos dust, protective clothing and clean-up rags included, and says the packaged waste is to be carried securely and taken to a designated asbestos waste facility as soon as possible after removal. HealthyWA’s advice for gutters on an asbestos cement roof is heavy-duty plastic bags taken to licensed disposal sites.
HealthyWA’s homeowner method, on its Asbestos removal page, has its own wording for the label on bagged or wrapped waste: “DANGER ASBESTOS WASTE”. The wording regulation 44 itself sets, for material taken to a waste facility, is “CAUTION ASBESTOS” in letters at least 50 mm high.
Handing the waste to someone else is allowed: regulation 6 of the Health (Asbestos) Regulations lets an asbestos cement product be supplied to another person for disposal under the controlled waste regulations. The same wrapping and telling rules then apply to the hand-over. Where the waste comes from, and how much an owner may take down, is covered in who may remove asbestos from a WA home and asbestos cement roofs and eaves.
The regulations quoted on this page: the Health (Asbestos) Regulations 1992 and the Environmental Protection (Controlled Waste) Regulations 2004, both on the Western Australian Legislation website.