Master Builders Australia has released the second edition of Asbestos Contamination of Land – Reporting Obligations of Building Contractors.

The second edition of this Master Builders research paper provides updated information for builders on asbestos land contamination and reporting obligations.

The update came following amendments made to the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999. Effective from May 2013, the new measure contains health screening levels for asbestos in soil.

Master Builders’ paper aims to help builders understand:

  • How contractors can comply with the relevant provisions in each state and territory’s environment protection legislation.
  • Whether contractors have obligations under State and Territory contaminated land legislation to report the discovery of asbestos in soil at a construction site.

The paper uses the Australian Building Industry Contract (ABIC) Major Works contract to illustrate that the relevant contractual provision exceeds the requirements for reporting under the various statutory regimes, as will be the case with standard form contracts.

Richard Calver, Master Builders Legal Counsel said that while the principal concern when dealing with asbestos must always be safety, builders also face heavy fines if they do not comply with environmental legislation.

“Breaching the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 attracts civil penalties of $170,000 for an individual or $1.7 million for a body corporate,” he said.

Mr Calver also warned of the cost blowouts that occur when dealing with contaminated soil on project sites.

“The cost of the 2010 Molonglo housing development project in Canberra doubled to $43 million after 100,000 tonnes of asbestos contaminated soil was discovered,” he said.

“Builders must be vigilant in assessing asbestos contamination of soil and this paper helps them in that task,” Mr Calver concluded.