This page answers questions related to asbestos licensing. General asbestos FAQs are covered on other pages.
Class A asbestos removal licences allow for the removal of any amount of both friable and non-friable asbestos. Therefore, and providing the class A nominated supervisor holds a certificate in prescribed relevant course for removal of non-friable asbestos, they can supervise Class B asbestos removal conducted and notified under this Class A licence.
For the purpose of class B supervisor application, WorkSafe will still accept evidence of combination of friable and non-friable work.
WorkSafe only recognises NZQA unit standards for supervisor training.
No, the requirement is for each nominated supervisor to have at least three years of relevant industry experience, including a minimum of 600 days in removing friable asbestos.
For example, the 600 days of experience could have been gained over five years.
No, the requirement is for each nominated supervisor to have at least 1 year of relevant industry experience, including a minimum of 200 days in removing non-friable asbestos.
For example, the 200 days of experience could have been gained over two years.
Employees have a legal right to information stored about them. This is a right under the Privacy Act 2020, the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Holidays Act 2003.
Refer to the Employment New Zealand website for further information: Keeping accurate records » Employment New Zealand(external link)
In instances where candidates make a clear declaration of their intention to conduct clearances on domestic premises only, WorkSafe can impose conditions on the licence allowing the candidate to only conduct clearances on domestic premises.
WorkSafe provided a 12 month transitional period for this requirement, and it came into effect on 4 April 2022.
No, for the purpose of assessor licence renewal, only evidence of class A clearances inspections are required.
For a pipe you’d use the external surface area of the pipe. You can work this out by multiplying the outside circumference of the pipe by its length. This equals the surface area in square metres.
The external surface area of a pipe is calculated according to the following equation:
10(m2)     π x diameter (m) |
= Max length (m) |
 No licence required |
Â
Example 1:Â Â For a 100mm (0.1m) pipe that is 10m in length -
3.14 x 0.1m x 10m |
= 3.14m2 |
 No licence requred |
For a 250mm (0.25m) pipe that is 15m in length –
3.14 x 0.25m x 15m |
= 11.77m2 |
 Licence required |
Example 2:Â Â Maximum length of 100mm (0.1m) pipe that can be removed without a licence -
10 (m2) 3.14 x 0.1 (m) |
= 31.84m |
 No licence required |
Maximum length of 250mm (0.25m) pipe that can be removed without a licence
10 (m2) 3.14 x 0.25 (m) |
= 12.73m2 |
 No licence required |
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