In Queensland there are a number of laws relating to building and renovating and there are specific laws designed to protect the health of the general community, particularly in relation to asbestos.
 
There are very strict regulations and safety standards which apply to the removal, handling and disposal of asbestos material and persons engaged in this type of work are required to be licensed (A Class licence or B Class licence) if handling or removing more than 10m2 of asbestos contaminated material. Home renovators may undertake asbestos related work if the area is less than 10m2 (refer www.asbestos.qld.gov.au), however strict requirements apply in relation to disposal – asbestos contaminated material cannot be placed in a Council home wheelie bin or put out for Council kerbside cleanup.
 
There are two types of asbestos - bonded and friable (loose). Bonded asbestos consists of a bonding compound (cement) combined with asbestos to form a solid material with the asbestos fibres bound tightly into the material. This is also known as ‘fibro’ or ‘AC sheeting” but there are a number of other products under a variety of names which also contain asbestos.
 
Friable (or loose) asbestos is not bound within a product and is more susceptible to becoming airborne. It is not commonly found in domestic houses, but may be found in old domestic heaters, sprayed asbestos ceilings, stoves, hot water systems, thermal lagging and fire protective clothing. It should be noted that, after time, even bonded asbestos products may become friable.