4th June 2021
The current buyback program for homes affected by loose fill asbestos is set to end on the 17th of August 2021, this has prompted the ACT government to consider the future of this scheme. The current scheme has been in affect since 2014, it applies to anybody that purchased a home without the knowledge that it contained the dangerous loose fill asbestos. The scheme allows the homeowner to sell their homes back to the ACT government, as well as receive a conveyance duty concession on their next home purchase. The ACT Government will then demolish and safely dispose of the affected homes and resell the blocks after being deemed safe.
In 2014 a taskforce was developed to assess homes that were at risk of containing loose fill asbestos, due to the discovery that many homes that were supposedly decontaminated in the late 1980’s still posed a threat, as well as finding new homes riddled with the toxic loose fill insulation. The buyback scheme was developed around the same time to help homeowners to dispose of affected homes.
However, despite the surveys, some contaminated homes were still missed. This could be due to several factors, the records of the company known as ‘Mr Fluffy’ were poor, meaning they did not always record which homes they serviced, and therefore it is unknown how many homes are affected in total. The company also sold bags of the loose fill insulation directly to individuals to install themselves, and no records were kept of buyers.
When inspections were undertaken in 2014, it was assumed that the entire house was filled with this type of insulation, given the method of delivery (pumped in through the roof). What Canberra's Asbestos Removal Taskforce expected was to simply look through the manhole into the roof to assess if asbestos fluff was present. In the case of DIY jobs, this was not enough, usually the owner would have only installed it in one part of the ceiling and possibly covered it with an additional insulation of a different kind, making it harder to identify.
Since commencement of the Scheme, five additional affected properties have been identified. Making it reasonable to assume that more affected properties may be identified in Canberra’s older suburbs after 17 August 2021.
Given these factors, the ACT government has decided to set up a new loose-fill asbestos buyback scheme. The new scheme is a voluntary buyback program, similar to the one in place now, meaning that any homeowners of residential properties that are identified as having loose fill asbestos after August 17th, 2021, will likely be able to be part of the new buyback scheme.
The continuation of the voluntary buyback measures provides certainty to the community and support to these homeowners.
Sources:
Government to set up new loose-fill asbestos buyback scheme
Mr Fluffy: Acquiring a toxic legacy
Loose-fill asbestos buyback concession scheme
Mr Fluffy asbestos: List of affected homes shows problem spread across Canberra suburbs