SafeWork NSW, Building Commission NSW, and TAFE NSW have collaborated to offer a free online ‘Asbestos Understanding and Safety’ course to raise the general public’s awareness of the safety issues associated with asbestos.
This short self-directed online course, known as a micro skill, is intended for anyone likely to come into contact with asbestos at work.
It is hosted on the Construct NSW digital learning platform, part of a wider suite of courses built in collaboration with the Department of Customer Service and Building Commission NSW.
The NSW government’s priority is to ensure the safety of workers and the community when managing asbestos.
Recent reports of asbestos in mulching products have highlighted the need for readily available asbestos awareness training.
The ‘Asbestos Awareness and Safety’ micro skill will be free to anyone in Australia for three months, with the potential for extension pending public demand.
The two-and-a-half-hour course covers:
- recognising the risk and serious long-term impacts of asbestos exposure
- recognising the roles, responsibilities, and legislation for asbestos-related work
- how to determine if asbestos-containing material may be present
- identifying asbestos-containing materials and hazardous activities that lead to asbestos exposure
- identifying suitable control measures for asbestos and asbestos-containing materials (ACM)
- how to safely handle asbestos and ACM
- inspecting worksites and communicating asbestos risks and asbestos controls with an informed perspective.
Completion of the course provides asbestos awareness training. Further training is required to conduct licensed asbestos removal work.
Members of the public can register for the course at TAFE NSW.
