Commercial Asbestos Roof Removal: The Process, Regulations & Cost Breakdown in Victoria

If your warehouse, factory or commercial facility was built before 1990, there is a strong chance your roof contains asbestos cement sheeting. For decades, asbestos was the go-to roofing material across industrial Victoria - affordable, durable, and widely available. What wasn’t understood at the time was the serious health risk it poses when those sheets age, crack, and begin releasing fibres.

Today, commercial asbestos roof removal is a tightly regulated process in Victoria, and for good reason. Mishandled removal puts workers, building occupants, and neighbouring properties at risk. Getting it wrong also carries significant legal consequences for building owners and managers.

This guide walks you through the full removal process, the Victorian regulatory requirements you need to understand, and a realistic cost breakdown for commercial and industrial projects - so you can plan your project with confidence.

How to Tell If Your Commercial Roof Contains Asbestos

Asbestos cannot be identified by sight alone. The only way to confirm its presence is through laboratory testing of a material sample, carried out by a licensed asbestos assessor or occupational hygienist under NATA accreditation.

That said, there are strong indicators that your roof may contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs):

• Your building was constructed or last re-roofed before 1990

• The roof is corrugated cement sheeting (commonly known as fibro or Super Six)

• Sheets appear weathered, chalky, or are beginning to crack and crumble

• No asbestos register or management plan exists for the building

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Victoria), all non-domestic premises must maintain an asbestos register if ACMs are present or are reasonably likely to be present. If you don’t have one, your first step before any roof work is to commission an asbestos inspection.

Victorian Regulations for Commercial Asbestos Roof Removal

Commercial asbestos roof removal in Victoria is governed primarily by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the OHS Regulations 2017. WorkSafe Victoria is the enforcing authority, and compliance is non-negotiable.

Here are the key legal obligations every building owner or manager needs to understand:

Licenced removalists only

All commercial asbestos removal must be carried out by a licensed asbestos removalist. There are two licence classes:

• Class B licence: Covers non-friable (bonded) asbestos, which includes the cement sheeting used in most commercial roofing. This is the most common licence class for roof replacement projects.

• Class A licence: Required for friable asbestos - material that can be crumbled by hand and releases fibres freely. Deteriorated or fire-damaged asbestos cement may require Class A removal.

Never engage a contractor who cannot produce a current WorkSafe Victoria asbestos removal licence. Penalties for unlicensed removal include fines of up to $30,000 for individuals and significantly higher penalties for businesses.

Notification requirements

Licensed removalists are required to notify WorkSafe Victoria at least five business days before commencing any commercial asbestos removal work. This is the contractor’s obligation, but as the building owner or manager, you should confirm this step has been completed before work begins.

Asbestos control plan

A written asbestos control plan must be prepared before removal commences. This document outlines the scope of removal, containment procedures, PPE requirements, emergency response procedures, and disposal arrangements. Your contractor is responsible for preparing this, and a copy must be accessible on site throughout the project.

Safe disposal at EPA-licensed facilities

Asbestos waste cannot be disposed of in general waste. All removed material must be double-wrapped in heavy-duty plastic, clearly labelled as asbestos waste, and transported to an EPA Victoria–licensed asbestos disposal facility. Illegal dumping carries fines of up to $1 million for corporations under the Environment Protection Act 2017.

Clearance certificate

Once removal is complete, an independent licensed asbestos assessor (hygienist) must inspect the site and issue a clearance certificate confirming it is safe to re-occupy and that re-roofing work can proceed. This step cannot be skipped or self-certified.

Important: Your obligations as the building owner or manager

Even if you engage a licensed contractor to manage the removal, you retain legal obligations under the OHS Act as the person who manages or controls the workplace. These include maintaining an up-to-date asbestos register, providing access to that register to anyone performing work on the building, and ensuring you only engage licensed contractors for removal work.

The Commercial Asbestos Roof Removal Process: Step by Step

A well-managed commercial asbestos roof replacement follows a clear sequence. Here’s what to expect when you engage VIC Metal Roofing:

1. Site inspection and asbestos assessment. We begin with a thorough inspection of the roof and building. If no existing asbestos register or test results are available, we coordinate with a licensed hygienist to take material samples and confirm the presence and type of asbestos before any work is planned.

2. Project planning and notifications. We prepare the asbestos control plan, submit the required WorkSafe notification at least five business days before commencement, arrange licensed disposal logistics, and schedule the project to minimise disruption to your operations.

3. Site setup and containment. Before a single sheet is touched, the work zone is established. This includes erecting scaffolding or arranging elevated work platforms (EWPs), setting up exclusion zones, and implementing controls to prevent fibre migration to adjacent areas.

4. Safe removal and packaging. Roof sheets are carefully removed using wet methods to suppress dust and fibre release. Sheets are lowered intact where possible to avoid breakage. All ACM is immediately double-wrapped in heavy-duty polyethylene, sealed, and labelled in compliance with WorkSafe and EPA requirements.

5. Transport and licensed disposal. All asbestos waste is transported by a licensed carrier to an EPA-approved asbestos disposal facility. Disposal documentation is retained for your records - this is important for updating your asbestos register.

6. Air monitoring and clearance inspection. An independent hygienist conducts final air monitoring to confirm fibre levels are within safe limits and issues the required clearance certificate.

7. New roof installation. With the asbestos gone and the all-clear issued, our team installs your new Colorbond® metal roofing system - including roof plumbing, gutters, downpipes, and flashings - as part of the same coordinated project.

Cost Breakdown: Commercial Asbestos Roof Removal in Victoria

The cost of commercial asbestos roof removal varies significantly depending on the size of the roof, the condition of the asbestos, site access requirements, and whether the asbestos is non-friable or friable. The table below provides indicative 2025 pricing for Victorian commercial and industrial projects.

Cost item	Small commercial (<500m²)	Large industrial (>1,000m²)	Notes
Asbestos removal — labour	$50–$80/m²	$35–$60/m²	Rate reduces at scale
EPA-licensed disposal fees	$450–$1,200	$1,200–$3,500+	Weight-based tipping
Hygienist / air monitoring	$600–$1,200	$1,500–$3,000+	Required for clearance cert
Scaffolding / EWP hire	$800–$2,500	$3,000–$10,000+	Height & site dependent
New Colorbond® roof (supply & install)	$60–$100/m²	$45–$80/m²	Material & profile dependent
Roof plumbing, gutters & flashings	$3,000–$8,000	$8,000–$25,000+	Perimeter & drainage runs

All prices are indicative only and exclude GST. Actual project costs depend on site-specific conditions. VIC Metal Roofing provides detailed, fixed-price quotes following a site inspection.

What drives costs up?

• Friable or deteriorated asbestos requiring Class A removal procedures

• Roofs above 5 metres requiring extensive scaffolding or EWP hire

• Large roof areas with complex profiles, ridges, or penetrations

• Sites with restricted access for waste removal vehicles

• Urgency or out-of-hours scheduling to avoid production downtime

What drives costs down?

• Large roof areas that spread fixed mobilisation and disposal costs

• Good site access and single-storey structures

• Non-friable asbestos in intact, non-deteriorated condition

• Combining asbestos removal and re-roofing as a single project — which VIC Metal Roofing manages end-to-end

Why a combined project saves money

Engaging a single contractor for both asbestos removal and new roof installation - rather than two separate trades - reduces mobilisation costs, eliminates scheduling gaps between the removal and re-roofing phases, and provides a single point of accountability for the entire project. At VIC Metal Roofing, we manage both under one contract.

What Happens After the Asbestos Is Gone?

Asbestos roof removal is only half the project. Once the old roof is cleared and the site has received a clean clearance certificate, your building needs a new roof — and the choice you make here will affect your building’s performance and running costs for decades.

At VIC Metal Roofing, we install Colorbond® steel roofing systems across the full range of commercial and industrial profiles, including:

• Corrugated Colorbond® - the most common like-for-like replacement for legacy fibro roofing

• Trimdek® and Klip-Lok® concealed-fix profiles - for a cleaner finish on commercial and industrial facilities

• Colorbond® Cool - for improved thermal performance and reduced cooling loads in warehouses

Your new roof also creates the ideal platform for future upgrades - including rooftop solar installation, which is considerably more straightforward on a new metal roof than on ageing fibro that needs to be replaced within a few years anyway.

Common Questions About Commercial Asbestos Roof Removal

Can we stay operational during removal?

In most cases, yes. Our team plans removal staging carefully to minimise impact on your daily operations. We work with you to schedule the most disruptive phases outside peak production hours where required. We establish clear exclusion zones so staff remain safe and site operations can continue in unaffected areas.

How long does a commercial asbestos roof removal take?

A small commercial building (under 500m²) typically takes two to four days for removal, plus a further two to five days for new roof installation. Larger industrial facilities are planned and staged in sections, with timelines agreed upfront based on your operational requirements.

Do I need to update my asbestos register after removal?

Yes. Once the asbestos has been removed and a clearance certificate issued, your asbestos register must be updated to reflect that the ACMs are no longer present. We provide full project documentation - including removal records and the clearance certificate - to support this update.

What if asbestos is found during a re-roofing job that wasn’t expected?

If asbestos is discovered during what was originally planned as a standard re-roofing project, all work must stop immediately. The material must be assessed by a licensed hygienist before any further work proceeds. This is one reason we always recommend an asbestos inspection before commencing any roof work on buildings constructed before 1990.

Get a Fixed-Price Quote from VIC Metal Roofing

VIC Metal Roofing provides fully licensed commercial asbestos roof removal and Colorbond® roof replacement across Melbourne and Victoria.

We manage the entire project - from initial inspection and WorkSafe notification through to installation, roof plumbing, and final clearance documentation - under a single, fixed-price contract.

To discuss your project or arrange a site inspection, visit our commercial asbestos roof removal page or contact our team directly.