Don't drill, sand, scrape or clean it
Don't screw anything into the board, brush dust off it or pull old fuses out to have a look. If it's cracked, crumbling or damaged, shut the meter box door, keep kids and pets away from any pieces or dust, and say so when you book. Western Australia bans high-speed power tools on asbestos for good reason.
How to tell if your board might contain asbestos
You can learn a lot just by looking through the open meter box door. The NSW Government's guidance describes the usual suspect: a black or dark brown bituminous backing board made before 1987. The back may carry a brand such as Zelemite, Lebah, Miscolite or Ausbestos, and there may be a warning sticker on the board or inside the box.
WorkSafe Victoria lists the other places it hides in switchboards: pitch-based boards, asbestos cement fuse boards and millboard lining inside switch boxes. WorkSafe ACT includes electrical panel partitioning in its list too. Essential Energy says homes built before 1988 may have a meter board containing bonded asbestos.
The fuses matter as well. The backing boards are non-friable, meaning the fibres are bound in. Some old fuses mounted on them, including Federal fuses, may have friable asbestos inside the fuse carrier, the kind that can crumble to dust. Only testing a sample can confirm any of this, and the ACT Government says suspected asbestos should be assessed by a licensed asbestos assessor.
How an electrician handles an asbestos board
You mention it when you book
Say the board is old and dark, send a photo of it through the open door if you can, and point out any sticker. Essential Energy suggests asking any electrical contractor how they'll manage the asbestos risk before work starts.
They assess it on site
An electrician who does older switchboards checks the board's condition and decides whether it has to come out. Victoria's asbestos compliance code says a licensed removalist may be needed where the board has deteriorated or there's dust.
A licensed removalist takes it out where needed
Victoria's Asbestos Hub says your builder, electrician or plumber generally isn't licensed to remove asbestos. So where the board has to go, the electrician arranges a licensed removalist. In New South Wales, any friable asbestos must go to a Class A licensed removalist.
A new panel goes in, never the old one
The same Victorian code says asbestos must not be reused, so a removed asbestos mounting panel is replaced with a non-asbestos one. The electrician then fits the new switchboard, tests it and gives you your state's compliance certificate.
The removal rules where you live
In Victoria, once you engage a tradesperson to work in your home, it's treated as a workplace under the state's health and safety laws. Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory require a business arranging removal to use a licensed removalist apart from narrow exceptions for small amounts of bonded material, and friable asbestos needs a Class A licence.
The ACT has gone further and removed the small-amount exception, so only a licensed removalist can take asbestos out of a home. In Western Australia you may also need approval, and WorkSafe WA says to contact your council's environmental health team. We don't have official guidance for South Australian switchboards yet, so there, ask the electrician who they'll bring in.
What's safe for you, and what isn't
You can
- Look at the board through the open meter box door without touching it.
- Photograph it, sticker and all, and send that with your booking.
- Keep the door shut and the area clear of kids and pets.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Any work on the board, the fuses, the breakers or the meter panel.
- Deciding whether the board can stay or has to come out.
- Arranging a licensed asbestos removalist when removal is needed.
- Fitting the new switchboard and issuing the compliance certificate.
If it were our house
We'd leave the board completely alone, take a photo through the open door and bring it up in the first phone call. Then we'd only go ahead with an electrician who explains, in the written quote, how the asbestos will be handled and who's removing it if it has to come out. If a quote for an old board doesn't mention asbestos at all, ask before you say yes.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.