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Kmart and Officeworks Remove Statement on Asbestos Testing From Recall Notices
The Guardian reported that Kmart and Officeworks agreed within the last 24 hours to remove specific language from recall notices for sand products containing asbestos. The updates follow testing showing fibers can be released during normal play. Earlier assurances had relied on a supplier-commissioned assessment that was not independently verified.
Jul 19, 11:00 AM·2m read1 source
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Kmart and Officeworks agreed in the last 24 hours to amend their recall notices for children's sand products, removing the statement that respirable asbestos had not been detected in tested samples, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
The Guardian reported the changes after Auckland University of Technology testing found asbestos fibers released into the air in 90 percent of craft sand samples when handled as children would during play. Educational Colours children's sand products were pulled from shelves in November 2025 after samples were found to contain asbestos.
More than 20 similar recalls across brands and retailers followed. Consumers had purchased tens of thousands of boxes over at least five years, and the products had been used in hundreds of schools and childcare centres in Australia and New Zealand.
Until July 2026 the ACCC had advised that toxic fibres were unlikely to be released unless the sand was processed by mechanical means such as crushing or pulverising.
That position originated from a risk assessment Educational Colours commissioned and published on 10 October 2025. The assessment was based solely on discussion with a company representative and review of lab results the company supplied, without additional testing or visual inspection of the products.
Additional testing commissioned by Educational Colours found six of 14 samples contained non-respirable tremolite asbestos.
An Australian laboratory first detected the asbestos by chance during staff training and machine testing; the finding reached authorities after a lab manager mentioned it in a podcast interview. The New Zealand workplace regulator had challenged the Australian statements from the outset because its testing showed the fibres were of respirable size.
