Calls are mounting for an urgent, independent audit of asbestos across recent government construction projects in Australia, following revelations of contaminated fire doors at Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) new Perth CBD campus and a string of high-profile contamination scares in public facilities.
Unions and safety advocates argue the incidents expose systemic weaknesses in procurement, product testing and regulatory enforcement, and want all major government works over the past decade scrutinised.
Asbestos was recently detected in at least 14 to 18 fire doors at ECU’s $850‑plus million city campus, supplied via the Pyropanel-branded door system and installed by builder Multiplex.
The doors contain asbestos within fire‑resistant cores supplied by Assa Abloy to Australian licensees, prompting broader testing of similar products dating back to 2023.
WorkSafe WA has allowed the doors to remain in place on the basis that the asbestos is sealed within steel and therefore does not pose an immediate airborne fibre risk.
However, electrical trades union officials say workers were exposed before proper labelling and communication occurred, a claim Multiplex disputes, insisting all stakeholders and workers were notified promptly, and doors were clearly marked in line with WHS laws.
In response, Electrical Trades Union leaders have called for a “major audit” of all government projects that may have received the same or similar fire doors, warning that untracked installations could endanger first responders and building occupants in an emergency.
The union wants the WA government to review at least 10 years of public works to identify any sites where friable or poorly encapsulated asbestos‑containing materials (ACMs) might be present.
Industrial Relations Minister Simone McGurk has confirmed investigations into whether the affected products were supplied to other WA projects and urged builders to check their supply chains.
Regulators, including WorkSafe WA, are coordinating with federal authorities, highlighting how a national product issue can quickly spill into multiple jurisdictions.
The ECU case comes on the heels of asbestos‑tainted coloured sand forcing the closure or partial closure of dozens of public schools and preschools in the ACT after contamination was detected in products sold nationally through major retailers.
ACT authorities have defended the decision to close 69 schools at the peak of the incident, arguing it was necessary to isolate and remediate affected areas under the Territory’s tighter legislation.
Past audits have already revealed large legacy problems, with state‑wide surveys in Victoria finding high‑risk asbestos in hundreds of government schools and prompting substantial removal programs and capital spending.
Safety advocates say these findings underscore why newer government builds must be rigorously audited, rather than assumed safe because asbestos has been banned nationally since 2003.
Under national work health and safety laws and guidance from Safe Work Australia, persons conducting a business or undertaking must identify asbestos at workplaces, maintain an asbestos register and develop a management plan where ACMs are present.
The Asbestos National Strategic Plan 2024–2030, led by the Asbestos and Silica Safety Eradication Agency, commits all Australian governments to proactive identification, risk‑based management and, where practicable, removal of ACMs from public assets.
State regulators are already increasing compliance activity, with Queensland launching targeted asbestos audits on businesses in buildings constructed before 1990 from August 2025 under its statewide strategic plan.
Unions and health advocates argue that, in light of the ECU and school contamination cases, similar systematic audits should now be mandated for recent government projects to restore public confidence and prevent future exposures.
