Old grey corrugated fence on your boundary? It's almost certainly asbestos cement. We remove asbestos fences across Toowoomba from around $25 to $50 per lineal metre, disposal included. Call 1300 000 000 or get a free quote.
Asbestos fence removal is one of the most common jobs we do in Toowoomba. Thousands of homes in Harristown, Newtown, Wilsonton, Rockville and the older parts of Rangeville still have original super six boundary fences from the 1950s to 1980s. They're brittle, usually cracked, often leaning, and they fail exactly when you don't want them to: during storms, or halfway through a fence replacement project when a contractor refuses to touch them.
The process is straightforward when it's done properly. Sheets are wetted down, unbolted or cut free at the rails without power tools, lowered whole, wrapped, and taken to a licensed facility. A typical 20 to 30 metre boundary fence comes out in a morning.
Asbestos cement fencing has a recognisable look: grey corrugated sheets, usually a deep wave profile (super six), standing vertically between timber or steel posts, often with moulded capping along the top. Age is the giveaway. If the fence went up before 1990, assume asbestos. Australia's total asbestos ban only took effect on 31 December 2003 (Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency), and fencing was one of the most common uses of asbestos cement in Queensland.
Modern fibre cement fencing exists and looks similar, which trips people up. The differences that matter: asbestos-era sheets are typically more weathered, chalky and brittle, and often carry a golf-ball-like dimple pattern on the reverse side. But visual checks are never conclusive. If there is any doubt, a quick asbestos test settles it for less than the cost of guessing wrong.
An intact asbestos fence isn't an emergency. The problem is that Toowoomba's asbestos fences are rarely intact. Decades of weathering breaks down the cement surface, and hail, mowers, whipper snippers, kids' balls and leaning vehicles all crack sheets. Every break exposes raw asbestos fibres. Broken fence pieces lying in garden beds are one of the most common ways households handle asbestos without realising it.
There are also practical triggers. Fencing contractors will not remove asbestos fencing themselves; they need the old fence professionally removed before installing new Colorbond. Selling a property with a damaged asbestos fence invites building-and-pest flags and price negotiations. And once a fence starts shedding broken pieces, you're responsible for asbestos waste on your own land. Asbestos diseases still kill around 4,000 Australians a year (ASEA), so the rules around this material exist for good reason.
Queensland allows an unlicensed person to remove up to 10 square metres of bonded asbestos. On a standard 1.8 metre high fence, 10 square metres is less than six metres of fence length, roughly three or four panels. Any normal boundary fence blows well past the limit, which means a licensed removalist is legally required. Removing more than 10 square metres from a domestic property without certification is an offence under the Public Health Regulation 2018 (Qld).
Disposal has its own rules. The Greater Toowoomba Waste Management Facility only accepts asbestos from domestic customers, capped at 175kg per load, dampened, double-wrapped, sealed and labelled, with council notified before you arrive. A 30 metre fence weighs far more than 175kg. Practically, professional removal with licensed disposal is the only sensible route for a full fence, and it's included in our per-metre pricing.
1. Quote by phone or photo. Fences are easy to price. Tell us the approximate length and height, send a photo, and we can usually quote the same day. On-site quotes are free if you prefer.
2. Notification and booking. Licensed removal work is notified to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland five days before it begins. We schedule around that window and confirm with you and, where helpful, your neighbours.
3. Safe removal. Crew in full PPE wets each panel, releases fixings by hand, and lowers sheets whole. No smashing panels down, no angle grinders, no dry dust. Posts and rails are removed or left for the new fence builder, whichever your quote covers.
4. Wrap, cart, dispose. All sheets and broken fragments are double-wrapped in heavy plastic, sealed, labelled and transported to a licensed facility, with disposal documentation supplied. We rake and inspect the fence line so no fragments remain in the soil surface.
5. Ready for the new fence. Most customers have Colorbond installed within days. We coordinate timing with your fencing contractor so the boundary is never open longer than necessary.
Boundary fences are usually joint property under Queensland's Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011, and costs are commonly shared. We're happy to provide a written quote you can put to your neighbour, and to split the invoice between two households when both sides agree. A single removal visit for the whole fence is always cheaper than two half-jobs, and it's all part of our licensed asbestos removal Toowoomba service.
All Toowoomba suburbs including Harristown, Newtown, Wilsonton, Rockville, North Toowoomba, South Toowoomba, East Toowoomba, Rangeville, Centenary Heights, Kearneys Spring, Darling Heights, Glenvale and Mount Lofty, plus Highfields, Westbrook, Cambooya, Oakey and surrounding Darling Downs towns.
Related: asbestos removal Toowoomba · asbestos testing · shed & garage removal · emergency asbestos
Typically $25 to $50 per lineal metre including disposal, per 2025 Australian cost guides, so a 25 metre boundary fence usually lands between $700 and $1,400. Height, access, condition and whether posts are included affect the price. Small fences carry a minimum charge. Quotes are free and fixed.
Only up to 10 square metres of bonded asbestos, which is under six metres of standard-height fence. Beyond that, Queensland law requires a licensed removalist, and unlicensed removal from a home is an offence under the Public Health Regulation 2018 (Qld). Given disposal limits and health risk, professional removal is the practical answer.
Age is the strongest indicator: fences installed before 1990 almost always contain asbestos. Weathered, chalky, brittle grey sheets with a deep corrugation point the same way. Looks alone can't confirm it, so if the fence's age is unknown, laboratory testing of a small sample gives a definitive answer within days.
Keep people and pets away from broken sheets, don't sweep or pick up fragments, and don't put anything in your wheelie bin. Storm-damaged asbestos can release fibres. Call us on 1300 000 000 for a make-safe and removal. Home insurance frequently covers storm damage to fencing, including asbestos handling costs.
Legally you can replace individual panels, but it's rarely smart. Removal crews charge minimums either way, remaining old panels keep failing, and mixed fencing hurts resale. Nearly all customers remove the full run once a licensed crew is on site, because the marginal cost per extra metre is low.
No. Fencing contractors aren't licensed asbestos removalists, and knocking down asbestos sheets dry is exactly how fibres get released and sites get contaminated. Reputable fencers require licensed removal first and will happily schedule the new build directly behind our removal. We coordinate that timing routinely.
Yes. Fragment collection is part of every fence job, and we can also do standalone pick-ups of broken asbestos pieces around your property. Fragments are handled with the same wet-wrap-dispose process as full sheets. Never bag asbestos into household rubbish; it's illegal and dangerous.
Call 1300 000 000 or request your free fence removal quote. Fast, licensed Toowoomba asbestos removal, priced by the metre.
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