Asbestos in Imported Goods
All products containing any level of asbestos are prohibited from being imported and used in Australia. Importers must ensure they do not import asbestos into Australia.
Did you know that some countries still use asbestos in manufactured products and may classify goods as ‘asbestos free’ because they contain low levels of asbestos content.
The Asbestos Free Certification provided by overseas manufacturers can be wrong!
If Australian Border Protection suspects asbestos containing products may be present within your imported shipment, you will be required to engage a Licensed Asbestos Assessor to collect samples and have them tested for asbestos at a NATA accredited laboratory.
Remember that asbestos can be present in a wide range of materials including building materials, crayons, vehicles and spare parts.
Getex has experience of sampling contents of containers for asbestos that have been seized by Australian Border Protection.
Australian Work Health and Safety Laws apply to any work involving asbestos. More information can be found at:
- The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency has information for what businesses importing material must do to ensure the imported products do not contain asbestos.
- The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has important information on regarding prohibited and restricted imports which includes all forms of asbestos.
- The codes of practice on How to safely remove asbestos and How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace provide practical guidance to achieving the standards required under the Australian Work Health and Safety Laws.
Getex has experienced licensed asbestos assessors who are available at your earliest convenience to collect samples of material identified by Australian Border Protection for asbestos testing. Getex operates a NATA accredited laboratory for asbestos identification (AS 4964 Method for the qualitative identification of asbestos in bulk samples).
Getex are able to collect the samples and have the results issued to you within 24 hours of the sample collection, saving you the expense of having your shipment held by Border Protection for an extended period of time.
To arrange prompt collection and testing of samples please call Getex on 02 9889 2488 or get in touch.