Asbestos management survey vs demolition survey – which one do you need?

"Can you just do an asbestos survey?" It's one of the most common questions we get. The honest answer is that it depends on what you're planning to do with the building. In New Zealand there are two main types of asbestos survey, and they're built for very different jobs. Picking the wrong one can mean delays, extra cost, or worse, someone disturbing asbestos nobody knew was there.

Here's a plain-English guide to the difference, who needs which, and how to decide.

First, does your building even need a survey?

WorkSafe's guidance is that buildings built before 1 January 2000 are likely to contain asbestos-containing materials (ACM). That covers a big share of Auckland's housing and commercial stock, from bungalows and state houses through to 1970s and 80s office blocks and industrial units. Buildings built after 2000 carry a lower risk, though it isn't zero. Renovating an older building at a later date doesn't remove asbestos that was built in.

If your building is pre-2000, the next question isn't "is there asbestos?" but "what am I about to do with the building?"

The asbestos management survey: for living and working in a building

A management survey is designed for the normal day-to-day occupation and use of a building. Its job is to find and record asbestos that could be disturbed during everyday activities and routine maintenance, note its location and condition, and give you the information to manage it safely where it is.

Key things to know:

• It's largely non-intrusive. The surveyor inspects accessible areas and will usually take samples of suspected materials for lab testing. In some cases, material can be presumed to contain asbestos rather than sampled.

• It feeds your asbestos management plan. Under the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016, a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) with management or control of a workplace must have an asbestos management plan where asbestos is identified or likely to be present. The management survey is usually the starting point for that plan.

• It doesn't open things up. Wall cavities, under floor coverings and other hidden spaces usually aren't broken into, so it won't necessarily find everything.

Who typically needs one: business owners, commercial landlords, property managers and body corporates looking after pre-2000 workplaces, offices, shops, warehouses and commercial rental portfolios where the building is staying as it is.

The refurbishment/demolition survey: before you pull anything apart

A refurbishment/demolition survey has a different purpose: to find all the asbestos in the building (or the part being worked on) that is likely to be disturbed, so it can be safely removed before the work starts.

Key things to know:

• It's intrusive. The surveyor may need to open wall cavities, lift carpet or vinyl, remove tiles or cut into linings to see what's behind them. It's often best done when the area is empty.

• It's targeted to the scope of work. For a kitchen or bathroom renovation it may cover just that area; for a full demolition it covers the whole structure.

• It's a legal step before work begins. Regulation 20 says a PCBU must not start demolition or refurbishment until the structure has been inspected by a competent person to determine whether asbestos is present. If the competent person is reasonably uncertain, or part of the structure is inaccessible and likely to be disturbed, asbestos must be assumed to be present. Regulation 19 excludes minor or routine maintenance and other minor work, like fixing a plumbing fixture, but that doesn't mean you can disturb suspected asbestos.

Who typically needs one: builders and renovators, demolition contractors, and the homeowners, landlords and businesses engaging them, whether it's a villa renovation on the North Shore, a bathroom upgrade in West Auckland, or a commercial fit-out in the CBD.

A note for residential landlords: WorkSafe treats a landlord as the PCBU (the person responsible for health and safety) for their rental property. Its guidance ties the asbestos duties to planned work, so owning a pre-2000 rental doesn't, on its own, mean you need a survey. But if you're planning renovation, refurbishment or demolition work, the asbestos in the work area needs to be identified with a refurbishment/demolition survey, and you need an asbestos management plan for that work before it begins. If the asbestos has to be removed, your licensed removalist will prepare their own asbestos removal control plan for the removal work.

"I already have a management survey – isn't that enough?"

This is where people often get caught out. WorkSafe's guidance is clear: if you're planning to refurbish or demolish a building, or part of it, a refurbishment/demolition survey must be done, even if you already have a management survey.

That's because a management survey isn't designed to look inside walls, under floors or behind fixed linings. Those are exactly the places a renovation or demolition will disturb. Your existing management survey and plan are still useful background, but they don't replace the intrusive survey for the work area.

A quick way to decide

Ask yourself one question: am I keeping the building as it is, or am I changing it?

• Keeping it as is (running a workplace or commercial property, leasing it commercially, and carrying out routine upkeep): if the building was built before 2000, asbestos may be present. You'll generally need an asbestos management plan, informed by an asbestos management survey, to identify and manage any asbestos-containing materials that could be disturbed during normal occupation or maintenance.

• Changing it (renovating, refitting, removing walls, re-roofing, replacing floors, or demolishing): you need a refurbishment/demolition survey for the area being worked on, before any work starts.

• Both (for example, a managed commercial building where one tenancy is being refitted): you'll often have a management survey for the building and a refurbishment/demolition survey for the fit-out area.

Some examples:

• A property manager taking on a 1980s office building in Auckland → management survey to support the asbestos management plan.

• A builder quoting a kitchen and bathroom renovation in a 1960s home → refurbishment/demolition survey of the rooms being worked on, before work starts.

• A developer clearing a site for new townhouses → full demolition survey of every structure being knocked down.

What happens after the survey?

Either way, you'll receive a report setting out where asbestos was found or presumed, what type it is, and its condition. For a management survey, that becomes the basis of your asbestos management plan, which then needs to be kept up to date. For a refurbishment/demolition survey, it tells your contractors what needs to be removed, and by whom, before the project can go ahead.

Not sure which survey fits your project?

If you're not sure which survey you need, it's worth asking before you book anything. Telling your surveyor what you're planning to do, and where, is the best way to get the right survey the first time.

Get in touch with AirSafe to talk through which survey your project needs.