Asbestos management plans

An asbestos management plan helps people with management and control of buildings and other relevant structures to prevent exposure to airborne asbestos fibres by their staff and site visitors. This person must take reasonable steps to label and record asbestos in a register and inform everyone on the premises where asbestos is present, the consequences of exposure to asbestos and other appropriate control measures.

The plan should set out clear aims, stating what is going to be done, when it is going to be done, and how it is going to be done. It must include:

• the workplace's register of asbestos
• details of maintenance or service work on the asbestos including:
  • who performed the work
  • the dates it was done
  • the scope of the work
  • any clearance certificates (see clearance inspections, How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (PDF, 1.1 MB)
• how people at risk are informed about asbestos in the workplace, the risks they pose and the control measures in place
• decisions about management options and the reasons for these decisions
• a timetable for action, including priorities and dates for reviewing risk assessments and specific circumstances that may affect the timetable
• monitoring arrangements
• the responsibilities of people involved in the plan
• training arrangements for workers and contractors
• a procedure for reviewing and updating the management plan and the register of asbestos, including a timetable
• safe work methods.

An asbestos management plan must be written in relation to identified or assumed asbestos or ACM, and for naturally occurring asbestos at a workplace. The asbestos management plan must include:

• the identification of the asbestos or ACM (e.g. a reference or link to the asbestos register and location of signs and labels)
• decisions and reasons about management of asbestos such as safe work procedures and control measures
• procedures for dealing with incidents or emergencies in relation to asbestos or ACM
• workers carrying out work involving asbestos (e.g. consultation, information and training responsibilities).

The plan must be readily accessible to workers and others at the workplace, kept up to date, and be reviewed at least once every five years or sooner if:

• a control measure or the register is reviewed
• asbestos is removed from, or disturbed, sealed or enclosed
• the plan is no longer adequate for managing asbestos or ACM at the workplace
• a health and safety representative requests a review in certain circumstances.