A WA sole trader has been fined $15,000 (and ordered to pay more than $2600 in costs) for removing asbestos when he did not have an asbestos removal licence.
The man pleaded guilty to three counts of carrying out work for which he was not authorised according to regulations and was given a global fine for all three offences in the Perth Magistrates Court on November 21.
The sole trader was previously prosecuted for the same type of offence in August 2024 and was fined $10,000.
The work in this case was carried out on three dates in November 2023 and April 2024 in Armadale, Morley and Ferndale, with the man’s’ company trading under a number of business names.
In all three cases, the owners of the properties engaged the sole trader, one to remove an asbestos shed and the two others to remove fencing, and to dispose of the asbestos in all cases.
The sole trader told all three owners that he held an asbestos removal licence, but he was neither the holder of the licence he quoted nor was he operating on behalf of that licence holder.
He did not inform LGIRS WorkSafe of the work in advance, preventing any proactive management, and asbestos-containing materials remained at all three locations after the work.
WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said the case should serve as a warning to anyone considering undertaking the handling of asbestos that licences are required to remove and dispose of asbestos.
“It’s also a reminder to anyone considering engaging an asbestos removalist to first check on the Service WA app or the LGIRS WorkSafe website that the contractor holds the appropriate licence,” Ms North said.
“Licence holders must undertake the appropriate training and must demonstrate they have the skills to do the job safely and not endanger themselves or anyone else in the vicinity of the removal and disposal.
“In addition to checking that the contractor holds a licence, I’d encourage the sighting of photo identification and a check with the worker’s company to ensure the worker is actually employed by them.
“As a property owner or employer, it’s important to make asbestos identification and removal part of a business plan, as an incident or extreme fire or weather event creates risk and is expensive to clean up.
“By planning ahead to proactively remove asbestos from your workplace, you can reduce ongoing management costs and the risk of the material being disturbed.
“This case demonstrates that there are people who are willing to repeatedly undertake work for which they do not hold a licence, and a simple check of a licensing database and the contractor’s photo identification should prevent the problems that can result from unlicenced, unsafe work.”
