There are three tiers: Class A licensed, Class B licensed, and unlicensed. The overarching duty sits at model reg 458 — a PCBU must ensure removal work is carried out only by a licensed removalist, unless the regulations say a licence is not required.
The three tiers
| Tier | May remove | Model reg |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Any amount or quantity of asbestos or ACM — any amount of friable asbestos or ACM, any amount of ACD, any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM | 485 (exception: 486) |
| Class B | Any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM, and any amount of ACD associated with the removal of non-friable asbestos or ACM | 487 |
| No licence | Up to 10 m² of non-friable asbestos or ACM; ACD associated with the removal of less than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos or ACM; and ACD not associated with any removal where the contamination is only a minor contamination | — |
Class A is a superset. A Class A holder may do anything a Class B holder may do. The reverse is never true: a Class B licence does not authorise friable removal in any quantity, at any time, under any circumstances.
A wording difference worth knowing about
WorkSafe Queensland’s public page describes Class A as covering “any amount of friable asbestos and more than ten square metres of non-friable asbestos”. The model Code’s Table 1 is broader — any amount of non-friable. The two are not in genuine conflict, because Class A subsumes Class B and work at or under 10 m² needs no licence at all. But the regulator’s phrasing is looser than the Code’s, and we follow the Code here.
The ten square metre threshold
The 10 m² figure is the boundary between unlicensed and Class B work for non-friable material. Two cautions.
First, the Code is internally inconsistent about the edge. Table 1 says “up to 10 m²” for the material itself, but “less than 10 m²” for the associated dust and debris. Whether exactly 10.0 m² sits inside or outside the exemption is therefore genuinely ambiguous on the face of the Code. Treat 10 m² as the outer edge and anything at or approaching it as licensed work. If a job is being scoped at 9.5 m², the scope is wrong or the measurement is optimistic.
Second, it is a total, not a per-sheet or per-day figure. The threshold applies to the removal work, and splitting a job into instalments to stay under it does not make it unlicensed work — it makes it unlicensed work performed unlawfully.
Unlicensed does not mean unregulated
This is the single most common misconception in the field. Work at or under 10 m² still attracts the rest of the framework: signage and barricading, decontamination, correct waste containment, labelling and disposal at an authorised facility, worker training in identification and safe handling, and the general duty not to expose anyone to airborne asbestos. In Queensland, WorkSafe states plainly that unlicensed removal “must comply with Part 8.7” of the state regulation.
And because disturbing asbestos is high risk construction work regardless of quantity, a safe work method statement is still required — even though no asbestos removal control plan is. The two documents are compared here.
“Minor contamination”
Where asbestos-contaminated dust or debris is not associated with a removal, it can be cleaned up without a Class A licence only if the contamination is only a minor contamination. There is no threshold in the regulation. Safe Work Australia publishes a fact sheet listing the factors to weigh: the time required for cleanup, the size and extent of the contamination, the number of workers exposed, the complexity of the work, the knowledge and skills needed, and the complexity of the risk and of the control measures. Where the in-house expertise to make that call is not available, a competent person should make it.
| Is minor — no Class A licence | Is not minor — Class A licence required |
|---|---|
| Cleaning a small electrical box — around ten minutes | A large warehouse with extensive dust over multiple surfaces — around four hours |
| Dust from drilling into asbestos-cement walls — around ten minutes | The aftermath of high-pressure water cleaning spread over large areas — around two days |
| Storm damage to fibro structures — around an hour |
The pattern in those examples is duration and extent, not the nature of the material. Ten minutes with a defined boundary is minor. Two days across an unbounded area is not.
Supervision
The supervision requirement is where Class A and Class B separate most visibly on site.
| Class A | Class B | |
|---|---|---|
| Supervisor presence | Physically present at the removal area whenever the work is being carried out | Readily available — not required to be on site |
| Minimum experience (Qld) | 3+ years relevant industry experience | 1+ year relevant experience |
| Competency (Qld) | CPCCDE3015 Remove friable asbestos and CPCCDE4008 Supervise asbestos removal | CPCCDE3014 Remove non-friable asbestos or CPCCDE3015 |
| Minimum age | 18 | |
Relevant model provisions: reg 459 (supervisor must be present or readily available), reg 529 (work must be supervised by the named supervisor), reg 507 (change to nominated supervisor). A Class B supervisor is required where more than one worker is engaged. Queensland cites ss 493–494 for the supervisor competency requirements in a licence application.
Training and competency
Three duties sit together: reg 445 (duty to train workers about asbestos), reg 460 (asbestos removal worker must be trained), and reg 461 (licensed removalist must keep training records).
Reg 445 requires a PCBU to ensure workers who may be involved in asbestos removal work are trained in the identification, safe handling and suitable control measures for asbestos. Reg 460 requires a licensed removalist to provide appropriate training to workers carrying out licensed removal work. Reg 461 requires the training record to be kept while the worker is doing licensed removal work and for five years afterwards.
| Code | Title | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| CPCCDE3014 (was CPCCDE3014A) | Remove non-friable asbestos | Class B removal work |
| CPCCDE3015 (was CPCCDE3015A) | Remove friable asbestos | Class A removal work |
| CPCCDE4008 (was CPCCBC4051A) | Supervise asbestos removal | Supervisors |
| CPCCDE5001 / CPCCBC5014A | Conduct asbestos assessment associated with removal | Licensed asbestos assessors |
Plant and excavator operators — a Queensland detail worth borrowing
WorkSafe Queensland sets out the training expected of operators working in asbestos-affected ground:
- Friable, any quantity → CPCCDE3015
- Non-friable over 10 m² → CPCCDE3014
- Non-friable under 10 m² → training in identification and safe handling under s 445
Licensing itself
Applications run through Part 8.10 Division 3 of the model regulations: reg 491 (who may apply), 492 (application), 493 and 494 (content of application for Class A and Class B respectively), 496 (additional information), 497 (decision), 498 and 499 (additional matters the regulator must be satisfied about), 500 (matters to be taken into account), 501 (refusal process), 502 (conditions), 503 (duration), 504 and 505 (the licence document and its availability). Amendment sits at 506–514, renewal at 515–519, suspension and cancellation at 520–526, and reg 527 establishes the licence register.
- Both licence classes run for five years unless cancelled earlier (reg 503).
- A Class A applicant must be a PCBU — the licence is held by the business.
- An asbestos assessor licence is issued to an individual, never to a company. That is a deliberate design choice, and the reason is on the independence page.
- Reg 488 provides for recognition of removal licences issued in other jurisdictions; reg 490 does the same for assessor licences.
Homeowners
The WHS Regulations bite on a person conducting a business or undertaking. An owner-occupier doing genuine DIY on their own home is not, in that act, a PCBU, so the WHS licensing regime does not directly capture them. Two things follow.
The moment a homeowner engages a contractor, that contractor is a PCBU and the entire regime applies to the work. And in the meantime, the gap is filled by state public health and local government law — in Queensland, the Public Health Act 2005 and Public Health Regulation 2018, with the management of asbestos in non-workplaces sitting with local governments.
The Queensland homeowner’s certificate
| Quantity and type | What a Queensland homeowner may do |
|---|---|
| 10 m² or less, non-friable | May remove without any certificate, provided safe work procedures and precautions are followed to minimise fibres getting into the air |
| More than 10 m², non-friable | Requires a homeowner’s certificate, obtained through arrangements approved or established by Queensland Health |
| Friable — any amount | Never DIY. A licensed professional holding a Class A licence is required |
There are two approved pathways to the certificate: the unit of competency CPCCDE3014A through a registered training organisation, or a homeowner/DIY asbestos removal course delivered by Keys Human Resources, online or in person.
Note what the certificate is and is not. It is a Queensland Health instrument, not a WorkSafe licence. It does not make the holder a licensed removalist, and it does not travel — it is specific to a Queensland homeowner working on their own home. All the work must still follow public health law and the How to safely remove asbestos Code of Practice.
We do not publish a provision number for this exception. Both Queensland Government pages tie the certificate to the Class B licensing threshold, which points to a Queensland-specific subsection of s 487, but we could not confirm the subsection against the statute and will not guess at one. Cite the Queensland Government page instead — it is authoritative for the substance.
Other jurisdictions differ, and one differs sharply. Victoria adds a cumulative time limit on top of the area limit, which can make a job that is lawful unlicensed in Queensland unlawful in Victoria. See the state-by-state page.