If you work in construction, design, or asset management, you have probably felt it lately. A project is humming along, then a trench goes in, a ceiling comes down, or a roof sheet gets lifted, and suddenly everyone is talking about asbestos again. It’s not nostalgia. It’s risk, cost, and program pressure arriving uninvited.
That is why asbestos is still a practical issue, not a historical one. What’s changing in 2026 is not the material. It’s the pace of redevelopment, infrastructure renewal, and property upgrades across cities and the regions. More activity means more chances to hit legacy asbestos where it was always likely to be.
Why Asbestos Keeps Turning Up
Asbestos was used widely in Australia for decades, especially in building products that needed fire resistance, durability, or insulation. While Australia banned asbestos imports and use from 31 December 2003, many buildings, plant rooms, and industrial sites built or refurbished before that date still contain asbestos containing materials (ACMs).
So, when people ask, “Is asbestos still a serious issue?”, the answer from industry is blunt. Steven Phoenix from Rapid Asbestos Removals puts it this way: “It’s definitely still a major issue. We’re regularly seeing it pop up across Perth, from commercial factories to residential homes.”
That tracks with what we see on the ground. The projects getting attention are often “surprise asbestos” moments during:
- redevelopment of older commercial and industrial sites
- enabling works and services relocations
- demolition and strip-outs
- residential renovations, especially in mid-century suburbs
- remediation of disturbed ground where fill has a complicated history
For builders and designers, the key point is simple. Asbestos is most likely to show up when you disturb something that has been quietly intact for years.
Where Asbestos is Showing Up Most Often Right Now
Across Australia, there are two repeat patterns: older commercial and industrial buildings, and pre-1990 housing stock. Phoenix’s summary is clear: “We most commonly find asbestos in commercial factories and residential homes. It’s typically found hiding in ceilings, walls, roofs, and flooring. For commercial buildings, the big three is roof, floor, walls.”
Commercial: Factories, Warehouses, and Older Trade Premises
In commercial settings, asbestos is often found in big surface areas that were chosen because they were cheap, tough, and quick to install.
Asbestos in commercial buildings is most commonly found in roofing, flooring, and walls.
Common examples in industrial and commercial properties include:
- asbestos cement roof sheeting and wall cladding
- internal wall linings, including behind later fitouts
- plant room and service penetrations where older lagging or backing boards were used
- floor products, including vinyl tiles and adhesives in older amenities and offices attached to warehouses
For project teams, the risk here is scale. A small assumption in a warehouse can become a large scope change once sampling confirms ACMs across roof planes or wall runs.
If you are planning upgrades, demolition, or tenancy works in these environments, it is worth treating asbestos as a baseline hazard until proven otherwise, particularly on older sites.
Residential: The Usual Suspects in the Usual Places
In homes, asbestos tends to hide in plain sight, with repeat locations being ceilings, flooring, walls, and roofs.
That aligns with the housing products many of us have seen across Perth and regional towns: eaves, soffits, wet area wall linings, external cladding, older fencing, and backing boards. Renovation activity is a major trigger, especially when owners start pulling out old bathrooms, laundries, and kitchens.
The trap is that residential projects feel smaller and more “hands on”, so people are more likely to treat materials casually. That’s exactly when asbestos bites.
The “Why Here?” Behind the Hotspots
It’s tempting to map asbestos as a neat postcode story. In reality, asbestos presence is more about age, building type, and how many times a site has been modified.
Still, some patterns are hard to ignore:
- Established suburbs with renovation churn: Where older housing is being modernised, you see more ceiling, wall, and floor disturbance.
- Industrial corridors with legacy buildings: Older factories and warehouses often have original roof and wall systems still in place, even if the tenancy has changed.
- Sites with complex ground history: Former industrial land uses, older service infrastructure, and areas with imported fill can add uncertainty when digging.
The practical takeaway for builders and architects is to treat refurbishment and enabling works as “asbestos likely” unless the building history and sampling say otherwise.
The Biggest Mistake When You Suspect Asbestos
The fastest way to turn a manageable issue into a serious one is to create airborne fibres, since disturbing asbestos materials creates fibre in the air which can quickly become toxic.
In other words, the risk is not simply that asbestos is present. The risk is when you cut, sand, drill, grind, or pressure-clean materials that contain asbestos.
Another common failure is product awareness, including vinyl floor tiles and sheeting. Floor coverings are a classic gotcha because they look ordinary, and removal feels routine.
A Quick Reality Check on Vacuums and DIY Removal
One area that still causes confusion on sites is cleaning equipment. An “H class vacuum” is required, and it must be asbestos certified. This is equipment the everyday person typically can’t buy themselves, so it’s important to enlist a licensed asbestos removal specialist.
This matters because standard shop vacs can exhaust fine fibres back into the space. Even a well-meaning tidy-up can spread contamination and complicate clearance.
If you need to engage commercial asbestos removal services or a qualified asbestos removal specialist, it should be because your planning identified the risk early, not because the job is already disrupted.
What Builders and Designers Should Do Before the First Cut or Dig
Asbestos management is not glamorous, but it is controllable when you treat it like any other known hazard. For asbestos in projects, a few steps are doing the heavy lifting.
1) Assume Pre-2004 Means “Check First”
If the structure or building elements are pre-2004, treat asbestos as a possibility. If it is clearly older again, the odds rise.
2) Arrange Targeted Sampling Before You Finalise Scope
A good survey and sampling plan is cheaper than a stop-work order, reprogramming, and variations that ripple through other trades.
3) Build it into Your Method Statements and Trade Briefings
Your subcontractors need clarity on what is suspected, what is confirmed, and what is off-limits. “Don’t do anything abrasive” should be more than a quote. It should be a site rule.
4) Control Dust Like Your Programme Depends on it
Because it does. Segregation, wet methods where appropriate, and correct PPE and decontamination processes are what keep an asbestos finding from turning into a broader contamination event.
Why This Matters Beyond Compliance
Asbestos is not only a regulatory box. It is a reputation issue and a workforce confidence issue. When asbestos is mishandled, the story travels fast, and it is rarely kind to the builder, the superintendent, or the client.
The legacy of asbestos in Australia keeps affecting projects nationally. It’s important to remember that the issue still persists even long after the ban, especially as refurbishment cycles accelerate.
The Takeaway
The uncomfortable truth is that asbestos will keep showing up wherever older buildings are being upgraded, repurposed, or pulled apart, and wherever the ground is being disturbed around legacy assets.
The workable truth is that you can plan for it. Do the checks early, treat suspected materials with respect, and avoid the one mistake that causes the most harm: disturbing ACMs and creating fibres. That is where the risk shifts from “manageable” to “messy”.
FAQs
How do you know if a building product contains asbestos?
You cannot confirm asbestos by sight alone. If the building or element is pre-2004, treat it as a suspect and arrange an asbestos inspection and sampling by competent professionals before you cut, drill, sand, or demolish.
Where is asbestos most commonly found during renovations?
In many homes, asbestos is commonly associated with ceilings, wall linings, roofs and eaves, and some floor products. Vinyl floor tiles and older sheeting are frequent surprises once renovation strip-outs begin.
What should you do if you uncover asbestos during digging or demolition?
Stop work in the affected area, restrict access, and avoid any abrasive action that creates dust. Then engage qualified asbestos professionals to assess, test, and plan compliant removal or management.
Can you vacuum asbestos dust with a normal shop vacuum?
No. Standard vacuums can spread fine fibres. If asbestos contamination is suspected, use asbestos-certified equipment and processes, including an H class vacuum that is asbestos certified or hire an asbestos specialist to contain it safely.
Is asbestos still a major issue even after the ban?
Yes. Many buildings and sites still contain asbestos containing materials installed before the 2003 ban took effect. With more redevelopment and refurbishment activity, asbestos continues to surface during works.
