Information for asbestos licence holders about amendments to licences and how licences can be suspended or cancelled.

WorkSafe may amend, suspend or cancel a licence

You must make sure your work is carried out safely and competently and in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016(external link). If you do not, or you fail to comply with a condition of your licence, or you have given us false or misleading information, we may have grounds to limit your work or stop you from working with asbestos altogether by amending, suspending, or cancelling your licence.

Before this happens, though, we must notify you of the reasons and give you the opportunity to respond, unless there is a need for the immediate suspension of a licence.

If your licence is cancelled or suspended you will need to return the licence document to us within the specified time as you will no longer be authorised to work under the licence.

Amendments made by WorkSafe

We may amend a licence to add a new condition, or to vary or delete an existing condition.

We will notify you of any proposed amendment, including the reasons for the amendment, and will give you at least 28 days to make a submission in relation to the amendment.

We must also notify you within 14 days of making a decision. The notification will set out the amendment and the reasons for it, and specify the date on which the amendment takes effect.

A decision to impose an amendment to a licence is a reviewable decision. You are entitled to request a decision review.

Licence suspension or cancellation

We may suspend or cancel your licence when you:

• have not made sure that the work was carried out safely and competently
• have failed to ensure that a condition of the licence has been complied with
• have given WorkSafe false or misleading information, or failed to provide material information, in a licence application or in response to a request from WorkSafe for additional information
• no longer have a qualified supervisor
• do not have a certified safety management system (Class A licences only, from April 2018).

We may also suspend or cancel the licence, if it was granted on the basis of a certificate that was obtained using false or misleading information.

Before suspending or cancelling a licence WorkSafe we must give you:

• written notice of the proposed suspension or cancellation outlining the relevant allegations, facts and circumstances
• at least 28 days to make a submission in relation to the proposed suspension or cancellation.

If your licence is suspended or cancelled we may disqualify you from applying for the same licence or a similar licence that requires the same skills eg if your Class A removal licence is suspended or cancelled you may be disqualified from applying for a Class A and a Class B licence.

A decision to suspend or cancel a licence is a reviewable decision. You are entitled to request a decision review.

We will return your suspended licence document within 14 days after the suspension ends.

Immediate suspension

WorkSafe may on grounds similar to those set out above immediately suspend a licence when work must stop because it may pose an imminent serious risk to the health and safety of any person, or if a corresponding (Australian) regulator has suspended an equivalent licence held by the holder.

Written notice will be given detailing the reason for the suspension. The suspension of the licence takes effect when the notice is given to you.

WorkSafe will look through the evidence and follow up by sending you another notification clearly explaining the allegations, facts and circumstances. If this does not happen within 14 days the suspension ends.

You will be given the opportunity to respond to the concerns or allegations.