Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00423:body:0:p13
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00423
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 33604–36983

advice from an experienced engineer or plant designer. Quality assurance systems or checks should be in place to confirm whether asbestos is present.
Talk to workers who have worked at the workplace for a long time                       Speaking with experienced workers will assist in the identification process as they may be aware of the history of the building, including its age, construction, renovation or repairs, and may know where asbestos is located in the workplace.
Visually inspect the workplace to identify asbestos, ACM and inaccessible areas        A thorough inspection of all areas of the workplace must be conducted, including all buildings, structures, ceiling spaces, cellars, shafts, storage areas and wall cavities.
                                                                                       Material needs to be considered to contain asbestos unless proven otherwise if:
                                                                                           * it cannot be identified
                                                                                           * there is uncertainty as to whether it contains asbestos
                                                                                           * it is inaccessible.
                                                                                       The design plans for a building, structure, ship or plant may assist in identifying inaccessible areas, as would discussion with builders, architects, manufacturers of plant and maintenance workers. Knowledge
                                                                                       of materials used in the construction of the building or experience and findings from inspections of similar sections of the building (or similar buildings) may also assist.
Take notes and photographs                                                             Taking notes and photographs while the inspection is being conducted can assist in producing the asbestos register.

2.3         Assuming asbestos or ACM is present
This section does not apply to NOA.

Regulation 422 A person with management or control of a workplace must:
    * assume the material is asbestos or ACM if it cannot be identified but a competent person reasonably believes it is asbestos or ACM, and
    * assume asbestos is present if part of the workplace is inaccessible and it is likely to contain asbestos or ACM.
It is not necessary to engage a competent person to identify asbestos if the person with management or control of the workplace assumes that asbestos is present or if that person has reasonable grounds to believe that asbestos is not present.
 If there is uncertainty as to whether asbestos is present in any part of a structure or plant, the person with management or control of the workplace can either assume asbestos is present and treat it with appropriate caution based on the level of risk or have a sample analysed. If it is assumed to be asbestos, it is considered to be asbestos for legal purposes. There is no need to take a sample for analysis and identification in all circumstances. This means the suspect material can remain undisturbed and the time and cost of sampling and analysis is avoided.
The person with management or control of a workplace can assume asbestos or ACM is not present as long