A cracked strip of eaves lining along one wall does not look like a big job. In Melbourne-metro pricing terms, though, a full set of asbestos eaves removal typically runs $1,500 to $2,500, and almost any asbestos removal job carries a minimum call-out of $800 to $1,500 before a single sheet comes down. If you have just noticed damaged, discoloured or crumbling lining under your roofline and you are wondering whether you are looking at asbestos eaves, and what dealing with it will actually cost, here is what is actually known, and what still is not.
What does asbestos eaves lining actually look like?
Eaves are the part of the roof that overhangs the wall line, and the lining underneath that overhang is the eaves or soffit sheeting. From the mid-1940s until the late 1980s, that sheeting was very often asbestos cement, cut to size on site and fixed with cover strips or battens.
Asbestos cement soffit sheeting often has ventilation holes cut into it, in diamond, slot or hexagonal patterns, to let the roof space breathe. It might be a single flat sheet, a laminated board, or a coloured and painted finish. None of that tells you whether it contains asbestos.
That is the frustrating part. A well-maintained sheet of asbestos cement eaves lining can look almost identical to the fibre-cement products sold today, which have contained no asbestos since the mid-1980s. Cracking, splitting, discolouration or a chalky surface are signs of age and weathering, not proof either way.
The only way to know for certain is a lab test on a small sample. Call (03) 5550 4817, or book a test before you touch it. Testing is the cheapest, most honest first step, and it is the cleanest place to start before anyone touches a licensed removalist about the rest.
Why Geelong’s older homes are full of asbestos eaves
Asbestos cement building products were standard in Australian housing from the mid-1940s through to the late 1980s, and the whole category was banned outright from 31 December 2003. Eaves and soffit sheeting were especially common through the 1970s, often on the same houses that used matching asbestos cement wall cladding.
James Hardie, the country’s biggest fibre cement manufacturer, says on its own asbestos fact sheet that it stopped using asbestos in its building products in 1985, and in its pipes business in 1987. That date is a useful marker: a product genuinely installed after 1985 should be asbestos-free. Older stock sat in sheds and on trucks for years afterwards, though, and installation work dragged on well past any cutoff date. Nobody can tell brand or age just by looking at a sheet from the ground.
Geelong’s northern suburbs were largely built in exactly that window, as Housing Commission estates for workers at Ford, International Harvester and a phosphate works. None of that tells you whether any specific set of eaves contains asbestos. It only explains why the odds are higher here than in a house built after 1990.
The Victorian DIY rule for asbestos eaves, stated correctly
Victoria’s OHS Regulations let a tradesperson or business remove non-friable asbestos without a licence only where two caps both hold: the area removed does not exceed 10 square metres, and no more than one hour of removal work is done in total during any seven-day period. Both caps have to hold together, and the hour is cumulative across jobs, not per job.
Here is the part most content gets wrong. Those caps are workplace rules. They bind employers and self-employed people doing removal work, and the compliance code makes clear that a person removing asbestos at their own home is not covered, because a home is not a workplace. WorkSafe still recommends homeowners follow the same code at their own home, and the moment a tradesperson, a tenant, a rental property or a paid helper is involved, the caps become law.
A full set of eaves on an average house is well past both limits on its own, which is one honest reason those jobs usually go to a licensed removalist rather than staying a weekend project. If the eaves lining is already cracked, crumbling or damaged, be more cautious again. Our guide to friable versus bonded asbestos explains why damaged sheeting is a different risk to intact sheeting, and friable material always needs a Class A licensed removalist, with no exemption at any quantity. For the full detail on what a Victorian homeowner is and is not allowed to do, see can I remove asbestos myself in Victoria. If you have already drilled, cut or sanded into a suspect sheet, stop work straight away and get it tested before doing anything else.
Why a small asbestos eaves job still costs the minimum
This is the number that surprises most people. Removal businesses set a minimum call-out because the fixed costs, containment, decontamination and disposal, apply whether they remove two sheets or twenty. A two-sheet patch and a full run of eaves can land close to the same price.
The figures below are Melbourne-metro benchmarks. There is no published Geelong-specific asbestos removal pricing anywhere, so treat every figure as a starting point for a conversation with a licensed removalist, not a quote. The right price for any given job also depends on access, how much sheeting is damaged, and how far a removalist has to travel.
| Job | Typical Melbourne-metro range (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Minimum call-out for any asbestos removal job | $800 to $1,500 |
| Full set of eaves removed | $1,500 to $2,500 |
| Per sheet, small patch (only ever charged alongside the minimum call-out above) | $20 to $50 per sheet |
| General removal, per square metre | $45 to $150 |
Prices here are indicative only. GST treatment varies between providers, so ask each removalist whether their quote includes GST.
Take a 1970s brick veneer in Belmont, mid-way through a kitchen renovation, where the builder has pulled back a section of eaves lining and found it cracked and discoloured. Two or three damaged sheets do not add up to much material, but the job still starts at the minimum call-out of $800 to $1,500, because the removalist sets up containment and arranges disposal regardless of the sheet count. Call (03) 5550 4817, or get a quote from a licensed removalist before assuming a small patch means a small bill.
Compare that with a weatherboard house in Newtown, where a full run of eaves along the front verandah has cracked in several places after a storm. That is squarely a full set of eaves job, in the $1,500 to $2,500 range, and it is also well past the 10 square metre and one-hour DIY caps discussed above.
Testing eaves before anyone touches them
A lab test on an eaves sample typically costs $88 to $160, depending on the lab and how many samples go in together. Some labs charge a flat fee no matter how many samples you submit, and others discount from the second sample onward, so ask about both before choosing one.
Most houses need three to eight samples, because every different material has to be tested separately. Eaves lining, a fence panel and a bathroom wall sheet are three samples, not one, even if they turn out to be the same product. A full house inspection with sampling generally runs $395 to $900, and standard lab turnaround is one to five business days, with a 25 to 50 percent surcharge for a 24 to 48 hour result.
Picture an Ocean Grove holiday house going up for sale, where a building and pest inspection flags the eaves as a possible asbestos-containing material. Three or four samples at $88 to $160 each is a modest cost next to a sale, and it gives the seller a straight answer before a buyer’s own inspector raises it. Call (03) 5550 4817, or send us a photo and we will put you in touch with a licensed removalist. Our guide to how asbestos testing works in Victoria covers the lab process and the report you get back, and our Geelong testing page has more on booking a sample.
What happens once your eaves test positive
If the sample comes back positive, the next step is a quote from a licensed removalist, not a DIY plan. Almost all residential eaves work is non-friable and falls to a Class B licensed removalist, unless the material has already deteriorated badly enough to be treated as friable.
For a removal job over 10 square metres, the licensed removalist must notify WorkSafe at least five days before starting, which is the honest answer to “why can’t someone start tomorrow.” Smaller non-friable jobs need only 24 hours’ notice. Once the eaves are down, a clearance certificate from an independent person is required before the area is reoccupied, and at your own home that duty sits with the licensed removalist you engaged, not with you.
One thing this business will never do is quote or arrange the re-cladding, repainting or repair work that follows removal. That is domestic building work in its own right, and it is always something you arrange separately with a registered builder. Our asbestos removal cost guide has more on what removal itself typically costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal for a homeowner to remove asbestos eaves themselves in Victoria?
Not automatically. Victoria’s 10 square metre and one-hour caps are workplace rules that bind employers and self-employed people doing removal work as their job, and the compliance code confirms they do not apply to someone removing asbestos at their own home. WorkSafe still recommends homeowners follow the same code, and the caps become law the moment a tradesperson, a tenant, a rental property or a paid helper is involved.
How can I tell if my eaves are asbestos just by looking at them?
You cannot, reliably. A well-maintained sheet of asbestos cement can look almost identical to modern, asbestos-free fibre cement, and cracking or discolouration only shows age, not composition. A lab test on a small sample is the only way to know for certain.
How much does it cost to get eaves tested and removed?
A lab test typically costs $88 to $160 per sample, and most houses need three to eight samples across different materials. If removal turns out to be needed, a full set of eaves generally runs $1,500 to $2,500, and any asbestos job carries a minimum call-out of $800 to $1,500, all as Melbourne-metro benchmarks with GST treatment varying by provider.
Who has to sort out the clearance certificate after my eaves are removed?
At your own home, that duty sits with the licensed removalist you engaged, not with you. A clearance certificate from an independent person is required before the area is reoccupied, unless the job involved less than 10 square metres of non-friable material, in which case none is required.