Asbestos import ban

What the rule is and who it applies to

Asbestos and goods containing it are prohibited imports under regulation 4C of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, and have been since 31 December 2003. Australian Border Force enforces it at the border. The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency publishes guidance and border detections.

The ban is zero tolerance. Some countries allow up to 0.1% or 1% and still call a product asbestos free. Australia does not, and Border Force says an overseas report must state no asbestos was detected, whatever the testing standard of that country.

The importer carries it. Border Force can demand evidence for any shipment, order testing at the importer's cost, and seize goods that test positive. The importer pays storage while goods are tested, whatever the result.

Where it has turned up

• Cut natural stone tiles and slabs, which can contain naturally occurring asbestos. Importing or installing them is prohibited.
• Building products including fibre boards and cement sheet.
• Gaskets in appliances and heating equipment.
• A prefabricated building, detected at the border in January 2026.

How to check it yourself

• Ask for a test report on the actual batch from a NATA accredited lab, or an overseas lab accredited by a body NATA recognises under a mutual recognition arrangement.
• Check the report says no asbestos detected, names the product and batch, and was sampled from your goods, not a showroom piece.
• For natural stone, ask which quarry the block came from and test each new block.
• Know what is inside: gaskets and boards in an appliance or heater count.

What evidence Elje holds per item

• For natural stone, tiles, fibre-cement boards and anything with a gasket, a batch-linked report from an accredited lab before shipping.
• Photos of the sampling, tied to the batch and carton numbers.
• The supply chain back to manufacture for each item, which Border Force expects the importer to know.

The common traps with China-made product

• An asbestos free certificate that is really a supplier declaration with no test behind it.
• A report to a standard that allows trace levels, called asbestos free.
• A test on a sample from a different block, quarry or batch.
• Assuming tiles and stone are low risk. Stone is one of the named products.

Questions