Concrete Cancer Remediation
The Site Safety Journey — walked through on one real job. A typical concrete cancer remediation to balconies and facade soffits on an occupied residential strata building. Same five phases as the board; here's what each looks like on this job.
At a glance
Robertson's is engaged to remediate concrete cancer to the balconies and facade soffits of an occupied residential strata building. The job runs end-to-end through the same five phases as the Site Safety Journey Board — this page shows what each phase looks like on a real remediation.
- The high-risk work sits in Phase 2 — propping → breakout → treating the corroded steel → repair mortars, each with its own field guide.
- Residents stay in occupation throughout, so resident, dust and noise controls run across every phase.
- Four hold points stop the job until cleared — two of them statutory.
- It is regulated work under the New South Wales Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020: a Registered Design Practitioner lodges the design before work, and a Building Compliance Declaration closes it out.
Sign on & get competent
Before the remedial work starts, everyone completes a site induction, signs on to SWMSs and proves they're trained — verification of competency or NSW SafeWork High Risk Licence for plant and equipment, elevated work platform or scaffold erection or rope access if used.
Control the high-risk work
The heart of the job — the remediation itself runs through here: temporary propping → concrete breakout → treating the corroded steel → repair mortars. Each step follows its guide, and three hold points stop the work until they're cleared.
Work at Height
Demolition & Concrete Breakout
Silica Dust
Hazardous Substances & Safety Data Sheets
Facade, Waterproofing & Painting
Regulated design lodged before work
Propping signed off before breakout
Inspection before reinstatement
Mind the people around you
Residents stay in occupation throughout. Exclusion zones, protected access, and dust and noise management keep them as safe as the crew.
If it goes wrong
If a propped element moves unexpectedly, a worker is hurt, or asbestos is disturbed in old coatings — make it safe, get help, preserve the scene, and support return to work.
Check & improve
Inspect, sign off and close out. The Building Compliance Declaration is lodged confirming the work matches the regulated design, and lessons feed the next job.
Inspection, Audit & Performance
Building Compliance Declaration
Open the Site Safety Journey Board → Open the Project Managers Journey Board →
The detail behind each phase
As a Class 2 building the job is regulated work under the New South Wales Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 — the statutory gates that stop work are flagged as hold points below.
1. Sign on & get competent
Every work day starts the same way — induct, sign on, and prove you're trained for the task. On a remediation job that means current verification of competency for breakout tools, elevated work platform operation and abrasive blasting before anyone touches the work. See Training & Competency (Quick Guide 16).
2. Control the high-risk work
This is where the physical remediation runs, in sequence:
- Temporary propping — load-bearing elements are made safe before any breakout; because it's at height, Work at Height (Quick Guide 01) applies from the first prop.
- Breakout — unsound concrete is removed back to solid material with clearance behind the rebar: Demolition & Concrete Breakout (Quick Guide 07) + Silica Dust (Quick Guide 04).
- Treat corroded steel — cleaned to bright metal, passivated and coated: Hazardous Substances & Safety Data Sheets (Quick Guide 11).
- Repair mortars & finish — rebuilt, finished and waterproofed: Facade, Waterproofing & Painting (Quick Guide 08).
Hold point 1 (statutory) — design lodged before work
A Registered Design Practitioner must prepare the Construction Issued Regulated Design and lodge it on the New South Wales Planning Portal before any physical work begins.
Hold point 2 — propping signed off before breakout
Propping is mandated by WorkSafe regulation. No breakout of a load-bearing element begins until temporary support is installed and the structural sign-off is recorded.
Hold point 3 — inspection before reinstatement
Once mortar goes on, the cleaned and primed steel is encased and can no longer be verified. The prepared substrate and treated reinforcement must be inspected and signed off before any repair mortar is applied — a witness/hold point in the engineer's Inspection and Test Plan.
3. Mind the people around you
Residents, the public and traffic share the site. With the building occupied, exclusion zones, protected access routes, and dust and noise controls protect them as carefully as the team. See Public, Resident & Traffic Interface (Quick Guide 13).
4. If it goes wrong
Make it safe, get help, preserve the scene — and get people back to work well. On this job the live risks include a propped element shifting, breakout injuries, and disturbing asbestos in old coatings. See Incident, Emergency & Return to Work (Quick Guide 14).
5. Check & improve
Inspect, audit and feed what we learn back into the next job — Inspection, Audit & Performance (Quick Guide 15). Close-out also carries the final statutory gate.
Hold point 4 (statutory) — compliance declared at close-out
Close-out is not complete until the Registered Building Practitioner lodges a Building Compliance Declaration on the New South Wales Planning Portal, confirming the work as built matches the regulated designs. The Owners Corporation receives documented repair locations and warranties.