Any businesses applying for a Class A asbestos removal licence must have a certified safety management system in place by 4 April 2018.

What is a certified safety management system?

A safety management system is designed to ensure a business has identified the risks and has taken appropriate steps to manage them.

View our ‘Safety Management System on a Page’ document, which is designed to make it easy to see what should be included in an SMS.

Businesses undertaking Class A asbestos removal work have until 4 April 2018 to get their safety management system certified through a scheme run by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand(external link) (JAS-ANZ).

A certified safety management system is one that:

• An auditor accredited by JAS-ANZ has certified as being compliant with:
• Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4801:2001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems); or
• another international standard recognised by WorkSafe; and

• Meets any requirements prescribed in a safe work instrument issued by WorkSafe.

To help make it easier to understand what should be in a safety management system, we have produced a graphic that outlines the common features of a system. This is based on the 18001 standard but is relevant to 4801.

Which standard should I use for my safety management system?

We recommend using OHSAS 18001. However, you can also use AS/NZS 4801:2001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems).

Asbestos specific accreditation scheme

We have also worked with JAS-ANZ and industry to produce a new accreditation scheme specifically for Class A removalists, based on ISO18001. It is more specific to the work of Class A asbestos removalists and provides you with greater assurance that your safety management system is fit-for-purpose.

Finding a JAS-ANZ Certifying Audit Body:

• If you go onto the JAS-ANZ website(external link), click on “Find a CAB” across the top.
• You will be taken to the Accredited Bodies page.
• Search by name of the accredited body, standard, programs, schemes etc. Change the country to New Zealand (above “We have found 139 accredited bodies”).
• The standards we accept (currently) are 18001 and 4801 so put in either of these.
• Click Search.