A Call for Reform: The Need for An Effective Response to Asbestos in Australian Workplaces and Residential Settings

Abstract

This article argues for greater regulatory efforts to prevent unnecessary deaths from asbestos exposure in Australia. Despite asbestos-related diseases being responsible for a large number of deaths in Australia every year, the danger from exposure to asbestos is not well understood in the community and the regulatory response has been inadequate. A survey of 43,000 Australians between April 2020 and May 2021 found that only 28 percent of respondents knew that asbestos is dangerous to health and only 5 percent were aware that once diagnosed, most cases of asbestos-related disease are fatal within relatively short timeframes. Despite the significant risk to Australian lives posed by in situ asbestos, governments have failed to ensure that Australians are accurately informed about that risk, and responsible corporations have not been fully held to account.