Demolition Service / Guide 6 of 6

Guide 6 · The checklist

Before you swing a hammer

Before anything is cut, levered or knocked out, find out what runs through it: cables, pipes and gas lines, old paint and, in older houses, asbestos. Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office singles out cutting holes and driving screws or nails into walls as the moments when wiring in the cavity has to be thought about.

CABLEPIPEUNDER THE GROUND

General information. This checklist gathers what state regulators and national agencies say about the hazards inside walls, floors and the ground around a house. Each item links to the agency that says it.

1In the wall

  • Cables in the cavity. Queensland’s regulator says some jobs, such as cutting an opening for an air-conditioning unit, are not electrical work in themselves, but the risk of damaging or touching wiring in the wall cavity still has to be considered and controlled. NSW Fair Trading says care is needed when sawing, nailing or drilling into walls.
  • Old, brittle wiring. NSW Fair Trading says wiring can fail through age, overload or damage, and that older types can turn brittle and should not be handled. Energy Safe Victoria says the wiring in a house built more than 30 years ago should be checked, and that “when buying a home built before the 1980s it is imperative the wiring is checked by a licensed electrical inspector or registered electrical contractor prior to moving in” (© Energy Safe Victoria, CC BY 4.0).
  • Gas lines. In NSW, only licensed gasfitters can do repairs or renovations involving gas.
  • Paint older than 1970. The NSW EPA lists paint inside and outside homes built before 1970 among the sources of lead in a house. The lead paint guide gives the EPA’s main warnings and links its fact sheet.
  • Asbestos. The national agency says a home built or renovated before 1990 might contain asbestos.

The national Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in some places the law goes further: in the Australian Capital Territory any removal needs a licensed removalist, unless it is part of minor routine maintenance or other minor work, and in Queensland a home owner must be trained before taking out more than 10 square metres of non-friable material, and only a removalist holding a Class A licence may remove friable material. The agency adds that a professional makes the job easier and safer, and often cheaper too. It explains that under environmental protection laws, asbestos waste “must be disposed of” at a landfill licensed to accept it, and putting it in a domestic rubbish bin can bring a fine.

2What counts as electrical work

Queensland’s Electrical Safety Act 2002 defines electrical work as “the manufacturing, constructing, installing, testing, maintaining, repairing, altering, removing, or replacing of electrical equipment”. (© State of Queensland (Electrical Safety Office), CC BY 4.0) The regulator’s examples include installing a new power point, replacing a light switch, moving an existing power point and replacing a light fitting with a ceiling fan.

In Queensland, DIY electrical work counts as unlicensed electrical work, which is illegal, with penalties of up to $40,000 for an individual (as at October 2026, Electrical Safety Office). In NSW, any electrical installation work must by law be done by a licensed electrician, who must test it and give a uniquely numbered Certificate of Compliance Electrical Work.

3On the bench

  • Engineered stone benchtops and splashbacks. Safe Work Australia says “it is important that you don’t undertake any work with engineered stone yourself if you are not qualified” (Safe Work Australia, CC BY 4.0), and to use a qualified tradesperson who controls the dust and wears respiratory protection. The silica guide sets out what the ban covers.

4Under the ground, and overhead

  • Buried services. Before You Dig Australia takes free enquiries from homeowners about work that involves digging, from fencing and driveways to landscaping, letterboxes and pools, and passes back plans from the network owners. It warns that pipes and cables may run just outside the boundary under the footpath, driveway or nature strip and beside fence lines, and that their depth should never be assumed.
  • Damage costs. Before You Dig Australia notes that network owners may seek compensation for damage to their assets, and suggests keeping a record of the information you receive and any notes you make if a service is damaged.
  • Overhead powerlines. Its Look Up and Live tool shows overhead powerlines for work on private property, online or through its app.

5The checklist in one place

Before the first cut, it helps to be able to answer each of these:

  1. When was the house built or last renovated, and does that put it before 1970 or 1990?
  2. Which walls carry cables, pipes or gas, and has a licensed tradesperson isolated them?
  3. Has the paint been tested for lead, or is it being treated as lead paint?
  4. Has any suspect sheeting been tested, or is it being treated as asbestos?
  5. Is there engineered stone to come out, and who is qualified to remove it?
  6. Will any digging happen, and has a Before You Dig enquiry been lodged?

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