How to Choose a Demolition Contractor in Smithfield: What Industrial Sites Require That Residential Contractors Don't
Most advice on choosing a demolition contractor is written for homeowners planning a knockdown rebuild. It covers council approvals, neighbour notification, and asbestos in fibro eave linings.
That advice does not transfer to an industrial site in Smithfield.
I've been looking into what makes industrial demolition in the Smithfield-Wetherill Park precinct genuinely different from residential work, and the gap is larger than most people realise. The buildings are different, the ground conditions are different, the regulatory requirements are stricter, and the cost of choosing the wrong contractor is significantly higher.
To get a clear picture, I spent time with the team at Get It Away, a licensed demolition and excavation contractor with an office at 84 Victoria Street inside the Smithfield-Wetherill Park Industrial Estate. What follows is a practical checklist based on what they told me - and what I'd want to know before hiring anyone for an industrial project in this precinct.
1. Verify the Licence Class Yourself
Not all SafeWork NSW Demolition Licences cover the same scope of work.
A Restricted Demolition Licence covers standard residential structures under 15 metres. An Unrestricted Demolition Licence (Class DE2) is required for industrial buildings, larger structures, and complex commercial demolition.
Get It Away holds SafeWork NSW Demolition Licence DE2 AD214489. But don't take any contractor's word for it - including theirs. Check the licence number directly on the SafeWork NSW register at licence.nsw.gov.au before you proceed. Licences expire, get suspended, and get downgraded. The check takes two minutes and eliminates the most basic risk.
2. Ask the Right Asbestos Questions
Every contractor will tell you they are licensed for asbestos removal. That is not the question to ask.
The question is whether they hold a Class A licence for friable asbestos removal, not just Class B for non-friable. Get It Away's team explained this distinction to me clearly: in residential demolition, asbestos is almost always non-friable bonded sheeting. In pre-1990 industrial buildings in Smithfield, pipe lagging and duct insulation are frequently friable - meaning the fibres are loose, airborne risk is higher, and the removal methodology, containment, disposal classification, and SafeWork NSW notification obligations are all different.
Class A and Class B are separate licences. A contractor without Class A cannot legally remove friable asbestos. If they encounter it on your site without the right licence, work stops until a compliant contractor is brought in. On a commercial programme, that delay is expensive.
Also ask whether they manage the hygienist clearance certificate in-house or pass that to you. On a tight programme, in-house coordination moves faster.
3. Ask Directly About Contaminated Sites and Underground Tanks
This is the question that most quickly separates industrial specialists from residential contractors working outside their lane.
Older Smithfield industrial sites - particularly those with mechanical, fuel, or chemical use histories - regularly turn up hydrocarbon-contaminated soil and underground storage tanks during excavation. Under NSW EPA waste classification requirements, contaminated material cannot go to a standard waste facility. It must be classified by an environmental consultant, transported by a licensed carrier, and disposed of at a licensed facility with full waste tracking documentation at every stage.
"A contractor who hasn't done this before will either price incorrectly or create an EPA compliance problem mid-project that becomes the client's liability," Get It Away's Smithfield team told me.
Ask specifically whether they have managed Phase 2 contamination excavations and whether underground tank decommissioning is handled in-house. If tanks are subcontracted, confirm that subcontractor is already engaged for your timeline. Subcontractor scheduling gaps are where industrial programmes slip.
4. Confirm the Equipment Is Sized for the Job
Warehouse and factory demolition requires equipment that most residential contractors do not own: high-reach excavators for controlled top-down structural demolition, crane or excavator support for tilt-panel take-down, and heavy-duty breakers for reinforced concrete hardstand.
Ask whether the machinery for your specific project is owned or subcontracted. An owned fleet means faster mobilisation and no third-party scheduling dependency. Also ask specifically about hardstand removal - reinforced concrete truck yards and loading pads are a common scope on Smithfield redevelopment sites, and the equipment needed is heavier than what most residential operators run.
Get It Away owns and operates their full fleet from their Smithfield base, which means equipment is on site within minutes of the estate.
5. Check Their Cumberland Council Experience
General Sydney demolition experience and Cumberland City Council industrial demolition experience are not the same thing.
Industrial land in the Smithfield-Wetherill Park precinct is zoned E4 General Industrial under the Cumberland LEP 2021. A standard industrial demolition DA requires a waste classification and disposal plan, a traffic management plan, a SafeWork NSW notification, and - where legacy industrial use creates contamination risk - a site contamination report. A contractor without Cumberland industrial project history will underestimate these requirements and the time they take.
Ask how many industrial demolition projects they have completed in the precinct within the last two years and whether they manage council documentation themselves.
6. Read the Quote Scope Line by Line
The most common dispute in industrial demolition starts with a quote that looks competitive and ends with a contractor claiming something was outside the original scope.
According to Get It Away, a properly scoped fixed-price quote for a Smithfield industrial site should include every item below without qualification:
Pre-demolition asbestos inspection and management plan
Licensed removal of friable and non-friable asbestos where present
SafeWork NSW demolition notification and all compliance documentation
Utility disconnections
Structural demolition and concrete hardstand removal
Underground tank removal where applicable
Waste classification, EPA-compliant disposal, and full waste tracking documentation
Hygienist clearance certificate
Level site handover with complete compliance pack
If any item is listed as an estimate, excluded, or flagged as subject to site conditions, ask for a written explanation before proceeding.
What Does Industrial Demolition Cost in Smithfield?
Based on my conversations with Get It Away, here are realistic cost ranges for the most common project types in the precinct:
Steel-framed warehouse (1,000–3,000 sqm): $35,000–$90,000 including asbestos removal, utility disconnections, structural demolition, and site handover.
Factory or tilt-panel building: $45,000–$120,000 depending on size, panel count, and asbestos extent.
Reinforced concrete hardstand removal: $8,000–$25,000 depending on slab thickness and area.
Warehouse strip-out (internal only, retain structure): $15,000–$50,000 depending on mezzanine floors and plant extent.
Underground tank removal: $8,000–$20,000 per tank. Contaminated soil excavation is priced separately once extent is confirmed by an environmental consultant.
The most common source of cost overruns is unconfirmed asbestos and contamination scope at quoting stage. A contractor who prices these as fixed inclusions has done the pre-demolition assessment work. One who hasn't will issue variations.
How Long Does It Take?
Approval: CDC for standard industrial demolition, one to four weeks. DA for complex projects, four to ten weeks. Environmental assessments add two to four weeks before lodgement.
Physical works: Standard warehouse (1,000–2,000 sqm), three to seven days. Large multi-bay factory (3,000 sqm+), seven to fifteen days. Smithfield's wide roads and large lots allow concurrent activities that constrained residential sites cannot.
Total programme: CDC project with no contamination, four to eight weeks. DA with environmental assessment, ten to sixteen weeks.
A Note on Local Knowledge
Get It Away's Smithfield office at 84 Victoria Street sits inside the estate itself. Their teams are familiar with Cumberland Council's assessment requirements for the E4 zone, the contamination profile of older buildings across the precinct, and the practical access conditions that shape how industrial demolition runs here.
If you are managing an industrial demolition or site remediation project in Smithfield, they offer free fixed-price quotes and can be reached on 1300 313 371.
getitaway.com.au/service-areas/smithfield
Mason Reed is a writer and renovation enthusiast covering modern home design, outdoor living, and smart renovation trends across Canada and Australia.