Asbestos Testing in Brisbane
Know what it is before anyone touches it.
We'll be in touch within 30 minutes.
Asbestos testing tells you whether a material contains asbestos before anyone cuts, drills or pulls it out.
We visit, take a careful sample, send it to a NATA accredited lab and explain the certificate in plain words.
A testing visit with one sample is around $200 inc GST.
Prices are a guide only and depend on size, access and condition. You'll get a fixed price before any work starts.
- Back to you within 30 minutes
- Fixed quote before any work starts
- Testing to disposal, one local team
Visit and sample, or post a sample to a lab?
There are two ways to get a material tested.
We can come out and take the sample, or you can break off a piece yourself and post it to a NATA accredited lab.
Both end with a lab certificate. The difference is everything that happens before and after it.
| Compare | We visit and sample | You post a sample |
|---|---|---|
| Who breaks off the piece | We do, damped down, with the spot sealed after | You do |
| Choosing the right layer | We pick the layer that answers your question | Easy to sample the paint or the wrong board |
| Packing and labelling | Sealed, labelled and logged with the location | Up to you |
| Reading the certificate | We explain it in plain words and what to do next | You read the lab's wording |
| Next step if positive | A removal quote from the same visit | Start again with a removalist |
Posting a sample can suit someone with one small, easy-to-reach sheet who's comfortable working safely.
For anything you're about to renovate, anything damaged, or anything you're not sure how to sample, a visit is the safer and clearer path.
What a lab certificate tells you, and what it doesn't
It does tell you
- Whether asbestos was detected in the sample sent
- Which type of asbestos was found, if any
- Which sample it relates to, by the label and location given
It doesn't tell you
- Whether other materials in the house are safe
- Whether the material is friable or bonded in its current condition
- How much of it there is, or the cost to remove it
- Whether a sheet that looks the same elsewhere is the same product
A certificate is only as useful as the sample behind it.
That's why we record exactly where each sample came from, and why we talk you through what the result means for your plans, not just what the lab found.
Testing, inspection and clearance: which one do you need?
When testing is worth it
- Before renovating a home built before 1990, or with additions from that era
- Before drilling, cutting or sanding a sheet you can't identify
- When a sheet has cracked, broken or been damaged in a storm
- Before buying, selling or renting out an older home
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- In a timber Queenslander with later linings, wet areas or additions
- When low density board might be involved, which has counted as friable since 1 May 2021
Get a fast quote
Send us a few details or photos and we'll be in touch within 30 minutes.
How it works. Easy as.
A quick chat. We reply within 30 minutes.
Testing, if it's needed. A NATA lab confirms it first.
Your fixed quote. One price in writing.
WHSQ notified. Five days before licensed work.
Removal day. Sealed off and kept damp.
Clearance. Independent check and certificate.
Waste to a licensed facility. Nothing left in your yard.
Each step in detail
- 1. A quick chat
- Send the form or tap call. We're back to you within 30 minutes to talk through what you've found.
- 2. Testing, if it's needed
- Not sure it's asbestos? We take a sample and send it to a NATA accredited lab, so you know before anyone touches it. See asbestos testing.
- 3. Your fixed quote
- We look at the job, measure up and put one fixed price in writing. Disposal shows as its own line.
- 4. WHSQ notified
- For licensed removal we notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (Form 65) at least five days before work starts (WHSQ).
- 5. Removal day
- The area is set up, kept damp and sealed off. Sheets come out whole wherever we can, then get double wrapped.
- 6. Clearance
- An independent assessor or competent person checks the work area and issues the clearance certificate.
- 7. Waste to a licensed facility
- Wrapped waste goes straight to a licensed facility. Nothing sits in your yard or your bin.
How a testing visit works
- 01
Tell us what and where
A photo and a few words help us bring the right gear and plan the sample.
- 02
We sample it carefully
The spot is damped down, a small piece is taken from the right layer, sealed and labelled, and the spot is sealed over.
- 03
Off to a NATA accredited lab
The sample goes to an accredited lab for analysis. We tell you the expected turnaround.
- 04
Plain-words result
We call you with the result, send the certificate, and talk through options, including leaving it alone if it's sound.
The Queensland rules around testing
- Homes built before 1990 are likely to contain asbestos, some products were used into the early 2000s, and only a lab test confirms it (QBCC).
- Common places include wall and ceiling sheeting, eaves, roofing, cladding, fencing, vinyl floors, wet-area linings, switchboards and sheds (QBCC).
- Low density board counts as friable asbestos since 1 May 2021, and homeowners can never remove friable asbestos (Queensland Government).
- A clearance certificate covers the work area, not the whole house (Queensland Government).
What changes the cost of testing
- How many samples are needed
- Whether you need one material tested or a whole-home inspection
- Access, such as roof spaces or under the house
- Whether a written report is needed for a builder or sale
See our testing and inspection cost page for every guide price.
Common questions
Our guide price for a testing visit with one sample is around $200 inc GST.
A full asbestos inspection is around $350 inc GST. See testing and inspection cost.
Prices are a guide only and depend on size, access and condition. You'll get a fixed price before any work starts.
You can, and some people do. The catch is that you have to break off a piece, which disturbs the material, and you need to seal it, label it and patch the spot.
A wrong sample, or one from the wrong layer, gives you a result that doesn't answer your real question. A visit puts that on us.
It depends on the lab's turnaround and how many samples there are.
We tell you the expected timing when we take the sample, and we call you to explain the result in plain words when it lands.
No. Experience tells you what's likely, but only a lab test confirms it (QBCC).
We never guess, and never tell you something is safe from a photo.
No. A result applies to the material that was sampled.
A house can have several different sheet types from different decades.
If you're planning work across the house, an inspection with several samples is the better choice.
Nothing has to happen straight away if the material is sound and you're not planning to disturb it.
If you are renovating or it's damaged, we can quote the removal from the same visit, so you aren't starting again with someone new.
Usually, yes. Homes built before 1990 are likely to contain asbestos, some products were used into the early 2000s, and only a lab test confirms it (QBCC).
A test visit with one sample is around $200, which is small next to the cost of a clean-up after a sheet gets cut or smashed by accident. See asbestos testing.
Prices are a guide only and depend on size, access and condition. You'll get a fixed price before any work starts.
Not automatically. A timber Queenslander can still have asbestos in later linings, wet areas, enclosed verandahs and additions (Queensland Government renovation guide).
Older timber homes were often updated in the decades when asbestos sheeting was common, so test before you cut.
No. A clearance certificate covers the work area, not the whole house (Queensland Government).
If other parts of the home might contain asbestos, they need their own inspection.
Get a fixed asbestos quote
Tell us what you've found and where. We'll be in touch within 30 minutes, look at the job at a time that suits, and give you one fixed price before any work starts.