A Canberra couple have been convicted for failing to completely remove asbestos during a major renovation of their family home in Griffith.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two types of asbestos were riddled through rubble that was left out in the open when the couple demolished an extension on a heritage-listed home in Griffith in April last year.
Albert Bonansea, a highly experienced builder and sole director of a construction company Interform Constructive Solutions, took charge of the renovation, and his wife, Ivana Bonansea, applied for her own owner-builder licence to help redevelop the block.
They brought in subcontractors and pointed out asbestos in the ceiling of a bedroom and a front entry that needed to be removed before the demolition.
The couple then pushed ahead with the demolition without getting a general asbestos assessment, telling the building certifier that all of the substance had been removed.
A WorkSafe ACT inspector later discovered broken pieces of fibro sheeting in the rubble, which he suspected to be asbestos.
A prohibition order was put on the site to stop further work, as was an improvement notice and a notice requiring the production of documents relating to the work.
More than 20 individual pieces of bonded asbestos and three instances of friable asbestos were found throughout the rubble.
The couple both pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a safety duty, and were sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court by Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker on Thursday.
Both were convicted and fined $1650.
Ms Walker said she would have thought the couple would have been more careful, particularly given their children were to live in the home, and given Mr Bonansea's experience and knowledge.
"That is a reckless disregard which I find difficult to fathom," she said.
She described both as seemingly very respectable citizens, noting Mr Bonansea was very competent and highly regarded in his work.
On Thursday, defence barrister Jack Pappas told the court the couple had been caught in the crossfire of various government agencies regulating the work site. He said they were trying to please everybody.
"This was a building site that was policed within an inch of its life," Mr Pappas said.
Mr Pappas called on the court to consider a non-conviction order, noting the couple had already been punished to some degree through proceedings in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
That was rejected by Ms Walker, who said the case did not warrant non-conviction orders.
The prosecution said a strong element of general deterrence was needed in sentencing, to show the community the importance of the safe handling of such material.
"We're not saying anyone was harmed, but this was asbestos, a dangerous substance, that was lying out in the open," the prosecutor said.
The prosecution acknowledged the wife had largely relied on her husband for the renovation work, and that her culpability was lower.
