Ownership of commercial property entails many additional requirements to that of residential property.
Section 425 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) reads that if a workplace is a building that was constructed prior to 31 December 1989 then an asbestos register is required to be prepared and kept at the workplace.
A person with management/ control of the commercial workplace must ensure an asbestos register is prepared and kept at the workplace. The asbestos register must record any asbestos or materials identified at the workplace or likely to be present in the future. The asbestos register must be kept up and date and correct at all times; the register will be required to be reviewed every 5 years.
The penalty for not having an asbestos register could be a maximum fine of up to $4,098.60.
An asbestos register is not required if the building was constructed after 31 December 1989 where no asbestos has been identified at the workplace and asbestos is not likely to be present in the future.
For buyers of commercial property that was built prior to 31 December 1989; there is no standard requirement in the REIQ Contract which says that an asbestos register must be in place at the time of sale. Therefore, if you reasonably believe that a register should be in place and one is not, contact our office to arrange a special condition to be inserted into the Contract, prior to you signing, to ensure that the property has a correct asbestos register prior to settlement. This will ensure that you are not liable or at risk of fine following settlement.
Please contact us today if you think you may require an asbestos register for your commercial property.
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