Clearance Inspections & Certificates

What is a clearance inspection?

A clearance inspection is the formal verification, after asbestos removal work, that the work area is free of visible asbestos and safe to reoccupy. It is the final control in the removal process and the point at which responsibility for the area transfers back from the removalist to the building owner, occupier or principal contractor.

Clearance exists because removal alone does not prove an area is safe. Fragments can be missed in corners, cavities and joints. Dust can settle on surfaces after the visible work is finished. Fibres can remain suspended in the air inside an enclosure. The clearance inspection independently verifies that none of these residual risks remain before people return to the area.

Under sections 473 and 474 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), a clearance inspection must be carried out after licensed asbestos removal work, and a clearance certificate must be issued before the asbestos removal area is reoccupied. Reoccupying an area without clearance is an offence.

The clearance inspection verifies the removal area is free of visible asbestos before it is returned to use.

When is clearance required?

A clearance inspection and clearance certificate are required after all licensed asbestos removal work. This means:

Class A (friable) removal. Clearance is mandatory for any quantity of friable removal. The clearance must include air monitoring and must be carried out by a licensed asbestos assessor who is independent of the removalist and of any business involved in the removal.

Class B (bonded) removal. Clearance is mandatory where more than 10 square metres of bonded asbestos has been removed. The clearance is carried out by an independent competent person and is typically a visual inspection, with air monitoring included where the circumstances warrant it.

Under 10 square metres of bonded removal. The WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) does not require a written clearance certificate for the removal of 10 square metres or less of non-friable asbestos, or for asbestos-related work. However, a documented clearance is still good practice and is often required by principal contractors, project specifications, insurers and property owners who want a defensible record that the area was verified safe. Hazclear provides clearance documentation for small removals on request.

Who can carry out a clearance inspection?

The qualification required depends on the class of removal work.

Friable (Class A) removal

Clearance after friable removal must be carried out by a licensed asbestos assessor. The assessor licence is issued by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and authorises the holder to conduct air monitoring and clearance for Class A removal work. Under section 475 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld), air monitoring for friable removal must be undertaken by a licensed asbestos assessor.

Bonded (Class B) removal

Clearance after Class B removal must be carried out by an independent competent person. Since 1 January 2015, a competent person for Class B clearance must have acquired the knowledge and skills of relevant asbestos removal industry practice through training or experience, and must hold one of the following: certification in CPCCDE5001 (Conduct air monitoring and clearance inspections for asbestos removal work), certification in CPCCDE3014 (Remove non-friable asbestos) or CPCCDE3015 (Remove friable asbestos), or a tertiary qualification in occupational health and safety, occupational hygiene, science, building, construction or environmental health.

A licensed asbestos assessor exceeds these requirements and can carry out clearance for both classes of removal.

The independence requirement

The person carrying out the clearance must be independent of the removalist and of any business involved in the removal whose work is being cleared. This separation exists for a simple reason: the person verifying the work should have no interest in the outcome. A removalist clearing their own work has a commercial incentive to pass it. An independent assessor or competent person has a professional and legal obligation to fail it if it does not meet the standard.

Where Hazclear carries out Class A removal, the clearance is commissioned from an external independent licensed asbestos assessor who is not involved in Hazclear’s removal business for the project. Where another contractor carries out the removal, we provide the independent clearance as a standalone service. This structure protects the client and produces a clearance that stands up to regulator and auditor scrutiny.

Clearance for friable removal must be carried out by a licensed asbestos assessor who is not involved in the removal or in a business involved in the removal.

Types of air monitoring

Air monitoring measures the concentration of airborne fibres at a workplace. It is carried out at different stages of a removal project, and each stage serves a different purpose.

Background monitoring

Conducted before removal begins, background monitoring establishes the baseline airborne fibre concentration at the site. This matters because if elevated readings occur later, the baseline shows whether they were caused by the removal work or were already present.

Control monitoring (during removal)

Conducted while removal is in progress, control monitoring verifies that the containment and control measures are working. For friable removal, monitoring is conducted at the enclosure boundary and, where required, in adjacent occupied areas. The results are assessed against defined action levels that determine whether work continues, controls are reviewed, or work stops.

Clearance monitoring

Conducted after removal and cleaning are complete, clearance monitoring confirms that airborne fibre levels inside the work area are below the clearance indicator of 0.01 fibres per millilitre of air before the area is released for reoccupation. For friable removal, clearance monitoring is conducted inside the enclosure before it is dismantled.

How the measurement works

Air monitoring uses the membrane filter method described in the Safe Work Australia Guidance Note on the Membrane Filter Method for Estimating Airborne Asbestos Fibres NOHSC:3003(2005). A calibrated pump draws a known volume of air through a membrane filter over a defined period. The filter is then analysed under phase contrast microscopy (PCM) at a NATA-accredited laboratory, where fibres are counted and the concentration is calculated as fibres per millilitre of air. A more detailed explanation of PCM and the other analytical methods is available in our asbestos testing guide.

Air monitoring action levels

During friable removal, air monitoring results are assessed against defined action levels. These levels determine the response required and are set out in the How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021 (Qld).

For context, the workplace exposure standard for asbestos is 0.1 fibres per millilitre of air as an eight-hour time-weighted average. The control levels used during removal sit well below this standard, which means problems are identified and corrected long before the exposure standard is approached. The clearance indicator of 0.01 fibres/mL is one tenth of the exposure standard.

The clearance process for bonded removal

Clearance after bonded removal is primarily a visual process. The inspector conducts a detailed examination of the removal area and the area immediately surrounding it, checking for any visible asbestos residue, fragments, dust or debris from the removal work.

The inspection covers all surfaces within the work area including floors, walls, ledges, window sills, fixtures and fittings. It extends into the joints, gaps and edges where fragments can lodge, such as the wall framing exposed after sheeting removal, the tops of wall plates, behind remaining fixtures, and within the cavity spaces opened by the work. The area surrounding the removal zone is also inspected because fragments and dust can migrate beyond the immediate work area during removal.

Air monitoring is not mandatory for bonded clearance but is included where the circumstances warrant it, such as removal in occupied buildings, large-scale internal removal, or where the client or principal contractor requires monitoring results in the project record.

If the inspection is satisfactory, the clearance certificate is issued and the area is released. If any residue is found, the area is recleaned and reinspected before a certificate can be issued.

The visual inspection covers every surface, joint and cavity in the work area before the clearance certificate is issued.

The clearance process for friable removal

Clearance after friable removal is a staged process carried out by the independent licensed asbestos assessor while the enclosure is still standing and under negative pressure.

Stage 1: Visual inspection inside the enclosure

Once removal and cleaning are complete, the assessor enters the enclosure through the decontamination unit and conducts a detailed visual inspection of every surface. This includes the substrate from which the asbestos was removed, all surrounding surfaces, the enclosure sheeting itself, ledges, fixtures, and the floor. Any visible residue, dust or debris fails the inspection and the area must be recleaned before proceeding.

Stage 2: Clearance air monitoring

With the visual inspection passed, clearance air samples are collected inside the enclosure. Sampling is conducted under conditions that represent how the area will be used, which may include disturbing settled air to ensure any residual fibres are captured in the sample. The samples are analysed at a NATA-accredited laboratory and the results must be below 0.01 fibres per millilitre of air.

Stage 3: Enclosure dismantling

Only after the visual inspection has passed and the air monitoring results are below the clearance indicator can the enclosure be dismantled. The negative air units run until dismantling begins. The enclosure sheeting is treated as asbestos waste, wetted down, folded inward and double-wrapped for disposal.

Stage 4: Final inspection

After the enclosure is removed, the assessor conducts a final visual inspection of the area where the enclosure stood, confirming no contamination has been left behind by the dismantling process. The clearance certificate is then issued and the area is released for reoccupation.

Clearance air monitoring is conducted inside the enclosure, with results required below 0.01 fibres/mL before dismantling can begin.

What a clearance certificate contains

Under section 474 of the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld), the clearance certificate must be in writing and must state that the assessor or competent person found no visible asbestos residue from the removal work in the area or in the vicinity of the area, and, where air monitoring was carried out as part of the clearance, that the monitoring showed airborne asbestos below 0.01 fibres per millilitre of air.

In practice, a complete clearance certificate also documents the site address and the specific area cleared, the scope of the removal work the clearance relates to, the date and time of the inspection, the name, qualifications and licence or certification details of the person who conducted the clearance, the inspection methodology, the air monitoring results and laboratory certificates where monitoring was conducted, any exclusions or limitations on the clearance, and the signature of the person issuing the certificate.

The certificate relates only to the area and scope stated on it. A clearance for a bathroom removal does not certify the rest of the house. A clearance for an enclosure does not certify areas outside the removal scope. Reading the stated scope matters when relying on a certificate during a property transaction or project handover.

Reoccupation

The asbestos removal area must not be reoccupied until the clearance certificate has been issued. This applies to building occupants, other trades, the client and anyone else. The removalist must ensure the area remains barricaded and signed until clearance is complete.

On construction sites, this means follow-on trades cannot enter the area to begin their work until the certificate is in hand. Project programmes should account for the clearance process, including laboratory turnaround on clearance air samples, when scheduling trades after asbestos removal. Same-day clearance is achievable on many bonded projects. Friable clearance takes longer because of the staged process and laboratory analysis of the air samples.

What happens if clearance fails

A clearance fails if visible asbestos residue is found during the inspection, or if clearance air monitoring returns results at or above 0.01 fibres per millilitre.

When a visual inspection fails, the removalist recleans the affected areas using wet methods and HEPA-filtered vacuuming, and the inspection is repeated. When air monitoring fails inside a friable enclosure, the cause is investigated, the enclosure is recleaned, settled dust is reassessed and new clearance samples are collected. The enclosure remains standing and under negative pressure throughout. The area cannot be released until both the visual inspection and the air monitoring meet the standard.

A failed clearance is not unusual on complex projects and is exactly what the process is designed to catch. The cost of recleaning and resampling is carried within the project. What matters is that the area is not released until it genuinely meets the standard, because the certificate is the document everyone relies on afterwards.

Documentation and record keeping

The clearance certificate forms part of the project documentation package alongside the Asbestos Removal Control Plan, air monitoring reports, waste tracking certificates and disposal records. A full description of the removal documentation package is available in our asbestos removal guide.

Retain the clearance certificate for the life of the property. It is the evidence that the removal was completed and verified, and it is relied upon during property transactions, lease negotiations, development applications, insurance claims, compliance audits and any future works in the area. Where asbestos remains elsewhere in the building, the asbestos register should also be updated to reflect the removal.

Legislation and standards

• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), sections 473 to 475 Clearance inspections, clearance certificates and air monitoring requirements for licensed asbestos removal work.
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021 (Qld) Practical guidance on clearance procedures, air monitoring, control levels and enclosure dismantling.
• NOHSC:3003(2005) Guidance Note on the Membrane Filter Method for Estimating Airborne Asbestos Fibres The standard method for airborne fibre counting using phase contrast microscopy.
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) The overarching workplace health and safety legislation, including the duty not to expose persons to risks from asbestos.

Frequently asked questions