Storm, flood and fire damage in Traralgon

Before anyone touches it

• Keep kids, dogs and visitors off the debris. Put tape or a wheelie bin across the path.
• Don't sweep it, don't blast it with a pressure washer, don't mow over it and don't drive on it. Stacking broken sheets breaks them further.
• Take photos from every side before anything moves.
• Don't put any of it in a skip, the wheelie bin or out for hard rubbish. Latrobe's hard-waste collection excludes asbestos.
• The state's community newsletter after the February 2024 storm warned that debris can include asbestos fragments and should be avoided. Treat anything grey and cement-like from a pre-1990 building that way until it's tested.
• If pieces have landed over the fence or on the footpath, tell the neighbour. The Latrobe Valley Asbestos Taskforce's who-to-call sheet sends a small amount on council land to Latrobe City on 1300 367 700, and a large amount on public land to EPA Victoria on 1300 372 842.

If the material is broken, burnt or blown down and you need someone today, don't register here: ring a licensed removalist directly from WorkSafe Victoria's directory.

Broken, burnt or just knocked over: the difference

The law draws the line at crumbling. Material is friable if, when dry, it can be crumbled or powdered by hand pressure, or has been made that way by what happened to it. Friable asbestos is Class A work. Bonded sheet that's still solid is Class B.

• Knocked over in one piece. A fence panel that fell flat, a sheet peeled off a shed roof by the wind. Usually still bonded, and a Class B crew can deal with it.
• Smashed into pieces. Depends on the pieces. Solid shards are one thing. Crumbling edges and dust are another.
• Burnt. Fire damaged asbestos sheeting that now crumbles is friable. That means a Class A licence holder, full stop.
• Flood-soaked or buried in silt. Floodwater shifts sheets, cracks them and drops pieces where you don't expect them, under the house or along the fence line. Tell whoever you engage exactly where the water reached.

They decide the class after seeing it. That's why photos and a rough size help whoever quotes.

The June 2021 creek flood, and older houses in the low streets

On 9 and 10 June 2021 the Traralgon Creek rose nearly five metres overnight, and more than 200 homes were told to evacuate. Homes in Peterkin Street flooded, the Franklin Street bridge was submerged, and motorists were trapped in Grey Street. The ABC reported nearly 600 properties affected, with about 140 damaged.

If your house near the creek predates 1990, read this part twice. After a flood the usual job is stripping wet linings, lifting sodden floor coverings and pulling out laundry walls, which is exactly where cement sheet and vinyl backing sit. If the house is old enough, get those materials sampled before the strip-out crew starts, not after the ute is loaded. Before you pay for anything after a flood, ask Latrobe City whether any clean-up help is on offer at the time.

Bushfire: Callignee, Traralgon South and the hills

The Churchill fire of 7 February 2009 was lit on Glendonald Road in Churchill and destroyed 145 houses across the fire area. Nearly all of Callignee's 60-odd homes were lost. A house rebuilt there since the fire went up after the 2003 ban and shouldn't contain asbestos building products. The sheds, older outbuildings and any home that survived are a different story.

Burnt fibro is a hard job. Where the sheet now crumbles it's friable, fragments can sit in the ash and the soil, and the ground is often wet from firefighting. Friable work needs a Class A licence holder and ends with a clearance certificate from an independent person before anyone reoccupies the area. Don't run a bobcat or a tractor through it first. More on the hill localities on our Traralgon South and Callignee page.

WorkSafe notice and the unexpected-situation rule

A licensed removalist normally notifies WorkSafe before starting: at least five days ahead for friable material or more than 10 square metres of bonded sheet, and at least 24 hours ahead for 10 square metres or less of bonded sheet.

Regulation 299 lets them notify within 24 hours after starting, but only in an "unexpected situation" as the regulation defines it: a sudden event that may expose people to airborne fibres, or an essential service breakdown that needs fixing immediately. Storm or fire damage doesn't qualify automatically. The removalist applies that test to your job. Ask them which notice they're lodging, and ask for your copy.

Insurance, and the fence that came down

The Insurance Council of Australia says debris removal can get very expensive when contaminants like asbestos are present, and that policies differ. Some pay a debris allowance on top of the sum insured, others take it out of the sum insured. Ring the insurer before you sign a removal quote, and ask them what they need from you. The Council also notes that councils sometimes waive tip fees after a big event, and that the state government may cover part of the cost in some circumstances.

If the storm flattened a dividing fence, the Fences Act lets you do urgent fencing works without the usual fencing notice where the fence was damaged by a falling tree, fire or flood and you can't practically reach the neighbour first. See fibro fences for the rest of that job.

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