Demolition in the Northern Rivers has changed since the 2022 floods. Before that the region's work was mostly older commercial buildings in Lismore, Ballina and Byron Bay, hospital upgrades and holiday park and resort redevelopments. Since then there has been flood recovery demolition on a scale the region had never seen, with hundreds of damaged buildings, asbestos in most of them and contractors coming in from Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane to do it.
This guide is for people who need to shortlist the biggest demolition companies in the Northern Rivers for a commercial, government or hazardous materials job between Grafton and Tweed Heads. We are Perfect Contracting, we wrote it and we are on it. We have put ourselves first and described every company, ours included, from facts you can check. The other contractors are in alphabetical order, from their own websites or public reporting as at October 2026. Verify licences with SafeWork NSW and insurances with the insurer before engaging anyone here.
The biggest demolition contractors working in the Northern Rivers
Perfect Contracting
Perfect Contracting was founded in Sydney in 2010 and works the Northern Rivers from both ends: its Marrickville head office and its Queensland office at Slacks Creek, two hours north of Tweed Heads. It is part of Perfect Group with Perfect Concrete Care, Perfect Remediation, Perfect Strip Out, Perfect Hire and DeconCut. Its scope covers structural demolition, friable and non-friable asbestos removal, flood recovery and make-safe demolition, decommissioning, early works and civil.
It holds SafeWork NSW demolition licence AD211896 and Friable Asbestos Removal Licence AD212957, covering Class A and Class B work, plus Queensland demolition licence 2329458 for jobs over the border. ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 are certified under one integrated management system. The group worked more than 100,000 hours last financial year with no regulator notices.
Northern Rivers work includes the hospital redevelopment demolition and asbestos removal in Grafton, flood recovery demolition at Cabbage Tree Island, flood disaster recovery at a Lismore school, church demolition in Lismore and decontamination and demolition in Byron Bay. The company owns a Volvo EC480 high reach excavator, built up to about 75 tonnes, and Brokk remote controlled demolition machines with its own operators. Its crews deploy from Sydney and Brisbane together, which is how it staffed flood recovery work when the local workforce was already stretched. See demolition contractors Northern Rivers.
Ballina Demolitions
Ballina Demolitions, formerly Dingo Demolitions, is a second generation family business at East Wardell near Ballina with more than 20 years in the trade. It publishes SafeWork NSW demolition licence AD213133 and asbestos removal licence AD214428 and describes removal of friable and non-friable asbestos, domestic, commercial and industrial demolition including multi storey commercial buildings, strip outs and excavation from Tweed Heads to Grafton. No named projects, fleet details or staff numbers are published. Source: Ballina Demolitions.
Northern Rivers Demolition and Asbestos
Northern Rivers Demolition and Asbestos was founded in 2016 and operates from Lismore and Ballina, with its own waste and recycling facility in Lismore. It publishes asbestos licence AD213595 and demolition licence AD213378, is a Master Builders member, and reported a team of 15 in 2025. Named projects include the former gourmet pie factory in Byron Bay, the Iluka pub, and Cedar Park, where it removed around 100 tonnes of friable and non-friable asbestos. Its published fleet is trucks; excavator sizes are not published. Source: Northern Rivers Demolition and Asbestos. For a shortlist of specialist friable asbestos and hazmat contractors, see the biggest asbestos and hazardous materials removal companies in Australia.
Rosenlund
Rosenlund is a Brisbane company based at Banyo with more than 50 years of operation, more than 50 full time staff and the largest published high reach fleet in Queensland, with machines up to 67 metres. Its Northern Rivers project is the partial top down demolition of a live building at Lismore Base Hospital, with asbestos removal, high rise scaffold and helicopter flight path controls. Source: Rosenlund, Lismore Base Hospital.
Walsh Demolition
Walsh Demolition was established in 2010 at South Grafton. It publishes an unrestricted SafeWork NSW demolition licence, asbestos licence AD212261 and EPA accreditation, and runs a recycled materials yard. Its excavator fleet is published as 5.5 to 14 tonnes, and it covers Grafton, Yamba, Lismore, Casino, Ballina, Byron Bay and Kyogle for commercial and residential demolition, asbestos, concrete cutting and tree removal. No named projects are published. Source: Walsh Demolition.
What to check before you engage a demolition contractor in the Northern Rivers
Heavy plant they own, not plant they hope to hire
A hospital wing, a flood damaged commercial building or a sugar mill structure needs more than a 14 tonne excavator. Ask what the contractor owns in the 30 to 80 tonne range, whether it owns a high reach excavator and remote controlled demolition machines, and who operates them. Of the companies above, only Perfect Contracting and Rosenlund publish owning high reach plant, and only Perfect Contracting publishes owning Brokk machines. A local firm hiring a high reach machine from Brisbane is depending on availability it does not control.
Class A asbestos, with the supervisor named
Flood damaged buildings in Lismore and along the Richmond and Wilsons rivers are full of wet, broken asbestos sheet, which is treated as friable. Class B does not cover it. Ask for the Class A licence, the name of the Class A supervisor who will be on your site, and the air monitoring arrangements.
A SafeWork NSW licence, and a Queensland one if the job is near the border
In NSW, demolition of a structure over 15 metres, a chemical installation or a pre or post tensioned structure needs a SafeWork NSW demolition licence. Tweed Heads jobs often touch Queensland. Ask which licences the contracting entity holds in each state.
People who can get there and stay there
The Northern Rivers workforce was stretched thin by flood recovery and is still stretched by the hospital and highway programs. Ask how many people the contractor can put on site in the first week, where they come from and where they will be housed. Contractors with a Sydney or Brisbane base and crews willing to travel hold a program when local labour is short.
Waste classification and where it goes
Flood waste, asbestos and contaminated material each have a different disposal path and the nearest licensed facility may be hours away. Ask how material will be classified, tracked and reported, and how much clean concrete and steel will be recycled and credited.
Certification and regulator record
Ask for ISO 45001, 14001 and 9001 certificates with expiry dates, and for the count of SafeWork NSW and EPA notices in the last financial year.
Talk to Perfect Contracting about a Northern Rivers project
We price commercial, government and hazardous materials demolition from Grafton to Tweed Heads, with crews mobilised from Sydney and Brisbane. See demolition contractors Northern Rivers, Perfect Contracting in Lismore, emergency demolition and make-safe and high rise and regional demolition NSW, or send us the job details and an estimator will call you back.
For national and remote projects, see the biggest demolition companies in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the biggest demolition companies in the Northern Rivers?
For commercial, hospital and hazardous materials work the names to shortlist are Perfect Contracting, Ballina Demolitions, Northern Rivers Demolition and Asbestos, Rosenlund and Walsh Demolition. Judge them on licence class, the plant they own and comparable projects, not on where their office is.
Which Northern Rivers demolition contractors hold a Class A asbestos licence?
Perfect Contracting publishes a SafeWork NSW friable asbestos licence covering Class A and B. Northern Rivers Demolition and Asbestos and Ballina Demolitions publish asbestos licence numbers and describe friable removal without stating the class. Ask each for the licence and the class.
Do flood damaged buildings need a licensed asbestos contractor?
Yes. Wet or broken asbestos sheet is treated as friable and must be removed by a Class A licensed contractor with air monitoring and clearance before demolition proceeds.
How long does it take to get a crew to Lismore or Grafton?
From Brisbane, a make-safe crew can be on site the same day. Heavy plant such as a high reach excavator is floated in over one to two days. Ask what the contractor can have on site within 24 hours.
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