Please be aware of possible delays that may be incurred in clearing your goods due to asbestos testing!

Is there asbestos in your goods? Your response would be no, right? Well, that may not be the case.

Due to recent high profile cases that received media attention, the Australian Border Force (Customs) are now monitoring all profiled imports to ensure that they do not contain any asbestos, as asbestos is a prohibited import.

Asbestos is used widely in the production of a variety of products (over 30,000) including brake pads, gaskets and seals, and more recently children's crayons and toys!

To avoid possible delays to your cargo it is the responsibility of the importer to ensure that none of your products contain asbestos. Even though a testing certificate may state that the goods are asbestos free, they may still contain a small percentage of asbestos as the country of origin may accept a level below Australian requirements. Australia has a ZERO tolerance level for asbestos within manufactured goods.

If there is a doubt as to the information provided by the country of origin as to the presence of asbestos in your goods, Customs will hold your goods until testing is done by an approved facility. If passed, your goods will be ruled as asbestos free for a period of 12 months.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that exposure to asbestos fibres can cause cancer and other disease. The WHO has stated that there is no minimum safe exposure! Australia has the highest reported incidence per capita of asbestos-related disease in the world, including the highest incidence of mesothelioma which is fatal and incurable.

For more information please click here to visit the government website.