1. INTRODUCTION
• if asbestos or ACM are determined or presumed to be present, inform the occupier and owner of the premises( if domestic premises) and the person conducting a business or undertaking with management or control of the workplace
• ensure that all asbestos that is likely to be disturbed by the demolition work is, so far as is reasonably practicable, removed before the demolition commences.
For the purpose of this Code, the person conducting a business or undertaking that has management or control of the demolition work is sometimes referred to as the‘ demolition contractor’.
A principal contractor for a construction project( i. e where the cost of the construction work is $ 250 000 or more) has additional duties under the WHS Regulations( Refer to section 3.2 of this Code):
Designers of structures must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the structure is without risks to health and safety, when used for a purpose for which it was designed. Designers must give the person who commissioned the design a written safety report that specifies the hazards relating to the design of the structure( Refer to section 3.3 of this Code).
Officers, such as company directors, have a duty to exercise due diligence to ensure that the business or undertaking complies with the WHS Act and Regulations. This includes taking reasonable steps to ensure that the business or undertaking has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks that arise from the demolition work.
Workers have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that they do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must comply with any reasonable instruction and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to health and safety at the workplace.
1.3 What is required to manage the risks associated with demolition work?
Regulation 297
Regulation 34-38
A person conducting a business or undertaking must manage risks associated with the carrying out of construction work.
In order to manage risks under the WHS Regulations, a duty holder must:
• identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to the risk
• eliminate the risk so far as is reasonably practicable
• if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, minimise the risk so far as is reasonably practicable by implementing control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of risk control
• maintain the implemented control measure so that it remains effective, and
• review, and if necessary revise control measures so as to maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, a work environment that is without risk to health and safety.
4 CODE OF PRACTICE | DEMOLITION WORK