When was asbestos banned in New Zealand, and when did it stop being used?

When was asbestos banned in New Zealand?

On 1 October 2016, when the Imports and Exports (Asbestos-containing Products) Prohibition Order 2016 came into force and stopped asbestos-containing products coming into the country. Auckland Council calls it a total ban on its use. The rules for asbestos already in buildings, from who may remove it to the clearance certificate afterwards, are the Asbestos Regulations, in force since 4 April 2016.

Asbestos already in a building wasn't made illegal. It's managed where it is, and removed safely when work will disturb it. That's why a 1970s house with asbestos-cement soffits isn't breaking any law, but cutting those soffits out without the right licence is.

The rules by year, 1936 to 2016

Public health researchers Glass, Armstrong and Chen called it an 80-year saga: 80 years from the first warning in 1936 to the import ban in 2016.

Did Australia ban asbestos before New Zealand?

Yes, by almost 13 years. Australia's federal asbestos agency says asbestos has been completely banned there since December 2003. New Zealand's import ban came on 1 October 2016. That gap matters when you read Australian advice: an Australian house built in 2005 is very unlikely to contain asbestos, while New Zealand's cut-off for "probably contains some" is 1 January 2000.

A timeline of asbestos in New Zealand buildings

• 1938 — James Hardie is making Fibrolite asbestos-cement sheet at its Penrose, Auckland plant (Isaacs, 2021).
• 1940s to mid-1980s — the period in which asbestos was widely used in New Zealand building materials, according to Auckland Council.
• 1981 — James Hardie makes what it describes as the world's first asbestos-free fibre cement products.
• September 1983 — a treated cellulose fibre replaces asbestos in Fibrolite (Isaacs, 2021).
• 1985 — James Hardie ceases using asbestos in its building products; 1987 in its pipes.
• Late 1980s — the building industry has mostly stopped using asbestos (Auckland Council).
• 1 January 2000 — the date WorkSafe uses: a building from before it probably contains some asbestos materials.
• 4 April 2016 — the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 come into force.
• 1 October 2016 — the Imports and Exports (Asbestos-containing Products) Prohibition Order 2016 comes into force.

Why is WorkSafe's date 2000 if use stopped in the 1980s?

Because "mostly stopped" isn't "stopped". Local makers changed over product by product, older stock stayed on shelves and in yards, and asbestos-containing products could still be imported until October 2016. Repairs and extensions were often done with whatever sheet was on hand. A 1992 house may be fine, or it may have a 1970s sheet in the garage wall. WorkSafe's 1 January 2000 line is a safety margin, not a claim that every 1990s building has asbestos.

What year did they stop using asbestos in houses in NZ?

Mostly by the mid-1980s. James Hardie, the main local maker of fibre-cement sheet, switched Fibrolite to cellulose fibre in September 1983 and stopped using asbestos in its building products in 1985, and Auckland Council says the industry had mostly stopped by the late 1980s. Imported products and old stock kept turning up after that, so a later date doesn't clear a house.

What does the build date tell you about your house?

• Built before 1940: the original materials mostly predate wide asbestos use, but most houses this old have been renovated, relined or reroofed since — often in the decades when asbestos was everywhere. Test what the later work used.
• Built 1940s to early 1980s: the peak. Fibre-cement cladding, soffits, roofing, wet-area linings, textured ceilings and vinyl flooring from this era are the usual suspects.
• Built mid-1980s to 1999: much less likely, not cleared. Older stock, imported products and some flooring and coatings keep it on the test list.
• Built 2000 or later: lower risk, as WorkSafe puts it, unless older materials were reused.

For the materials themselves, see cladding and soffits, vinyl and lino, ceilings and roofs. For the whole house, see homes built before 2000.

The date tells you how likely it is, and only a laboratory confirms what you have. One $249 test covers a surveyor visit and one sample.