Demolition Glossary
Sydney & NSW

The approvals, safety, asbestos, excavation and waste terms you’ll see in demolition quotes, approvals and safety documents in NSW, explained in plain English by H&R Demolition & Excavation.

Approvals & planning

Complying development certificate (CDC): A fast-track approval issued by a council or registered certifier when a project meets the standards in the NSW Codes SEPP. Many house demolitions in Sydney are approved by CDC under the Demolition Code. Read more
Development application (DA): An application to council for development consent, assessed on its merits. A DA is usually needed where a CDC is not available, such as for heritage items and most demolition in heritage conservation areas. Read more
Exempt development: Minor work that needs no planning approval if it meets the conditions in the Codes SEPP, such as removing some small structures that would themselves be exempt to build. Exempt demolition must follow AS 2601.
Codes SEPP: The State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. Its Demolition Code sets the standards for demolition as complying development in NSW.
Heritage conservation area: An area protected for its historic character in a council’s local environmental plan. Full demolition in these areas generally needs a development application.
Principal certifier: The certifier appointed to inspect and certify approved work. For complying development, the principal certifier must be appointed and council notified before work starts.
Notice of commencement: Written notice given to council before approved work begins, usually at least two days beforehand, together with details of the principal certifier.
Dilapidation report: A dated, photographed record of the condition of neighbouring properties before work starts. It is often a condition of consent for demolition and excavation near boundaries.
Knockdown rebuild: Demolishing an existing home and building a new one on the same block, usually with the demolition approved together with the new home. Read more
Dual occupancy: Two dwellings on one lot, such as a duplex. Many Sydney knockdowns clear a block for a dual-occupancy build.

Safety & licensing

AS 2601: Australian Standard AS 2601 — The demolition of structures. It sets out how demolition should be planned and carried out, including the written demolition plan and the sequence and controls. Read more
Demolition plan: A written plan for a specific job setting out the method, sequence, controls and how hazards will be managed, prepared in line with AS 2601.
Safe work method statement (SWMS): A site-specific document that identifies high-risk construction work, the hazards involved and the control measures. Demolition, and excavation deeper than 1.5 metres, both require one.
High-risk construction work: Categories of construction work defined in WHS regulations that need a SWMS, including demolition of load-bearing elements and trenches deeper than 1.5 metres.
Restricted demolition licence: A SafeWork NSW licence for demolishing load-bearing structures between 6 and 15 metres high, or where load-shifting machinery is used on a suspended floor.
Unrestricted demolition licence: A SafeWork NSW licence covering all demolition work, including structures over 15 metres, pre- or post-tensioned elements, floor propping and explosives.
Propping: Temporary supports installed to carry loads while part of a structure is removed, designed by an engineer for structural and partial demolition.

Asbestos

Bonded (non-friable) asbestos: Asbestos bound in cement or another material, such as fibro sheeting and asbestos cement roofing. Removing more than 10 m² requires a Class B licence or higher. Read more
Friable asbestos: Asbestos that is loose, powdery or crumbles easily, such as pipe lagging and damaged sheeting. It can only be removed by a Class A licence holder. Read more
Class A asbestos licence: A SafeWork NSW licence to remove both friable and non-friable asbestos.
Class B asbestos licence: A SafeWork NSW licence to remove more than 10 m² of non-friable (bonded) asbestos.
Asbestos register: A record of asbestos identified in a workplace. Workplaces built before 31 December 2003 must have one, and it should be checked before any strip out or demolition.
Asbestos removal control plan: A plan prepared for licensed asbestos removal describing the materials, method, enclosure, decontamination and waste arrangements for the job.
Air monitoring: Sampling the air around asbestos removal work to check fibre levels. It is required for friable (Class A) removal and carried out by an independent licensed asbestos assessor.
Clearance certificate: A document confirming an asbestos removal area has been inspected and is safe to re-occupy, issued before other trades return.

Demolition & strip outs

Partial demolition: Removing part of a building, such as a rear addition or upper storey, while the rest stays standing. Read more
Soft strip: Removing fixtures, fittings, joinery, carpet and non-structural partitions, often before demolition so materials can be recycled. Read more
Strip out: Removing a building’s internal fit-out, such as linings, ceilings, floors and services, back to the structure. Read more
Make good: A tenant’s obligation under a commercial lease to return the premises to the condition the lease requires, often by stripping out the fit-out. Read more
Service disconnection: Safely disconnecting and capping electricity, gas, water, sewer and telecommunications before demolition starts.
Hardstand: Concrete or paved surfaces such as driveways, paths and slabs, usually removed during demolition or site clearance.

Excavation & earthworks

Site cut: Excavation that brings a block to the levels set by the engineer for a new slab. Read more
Bulk excavation: Removal of large volumes of soil or rock, such as for a basement, pool or building pad. Read more
Detailed excavation: Precise excavation for footings, pier holes, pits, trenches and service runs.
Spoil: Soil, rock and other material dug out during excavation, which must be classified before disposal or reuse.
Bulking: The increase in volume when soil is excavated, often around a quarter to a third, which affects how many truck loads are needed.
Batter: A sloped excavation face cut back to a safe angle to stop it collapsing.
Shoring: Temporary or permanent support for an excavation face, used where there is no room for a safe batter or near boundaries.
Clean fill: Imported material suitable for building a site up, placed and compacted in layers to an engineer’s specification.
Before You Dig Australia (BYDA): A free national service that provides plans of underground assets before excavation starts.
Site clearance: Removing structures, slabs, rubbish and vegetation so a site is clean and ready for set-out. Read more

Waste & recycling

Waste classification: Assigning waste to the classes set by the NSW EPA, which determines where it can legally be taken and how much disposal costs.
VENM: Virgin excavated natural material: natural soil or rock from areas not contaminated by manufactured chemicals or process residues. It is usually the cheapest spoil to dispose of. Read more
ENM: Excavated natural material that meets the criteria of the NSW EPA’s resource recovery order, allowing it to be reused as fill.
Disposal docket: A receipt from a licensed facility recording what waste was delivered, used as proof of compliant disposal.
Recycled aggregate: Crushed concrete and brick from demolition, reused as road base and fill. Read more

Official sources & standards

Approval, licensing and safety information on this page was checked against the sources above on 20 October 2026. Prices are indicative and reviewed periodically; your fixed price always comes from a site inspection. Content maintained by H&R Demolition & Excavation · Licences & standards · Demolition glossary

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Demolition GlossarySydney & NSW