Asbestos audits conducted across Queensland public schools from July 2020 until February 2021 revealed more than 100 schools have asbestos present.
The Queensland government has spent more than $6.5 million in the last financial year extracting the asbestos material and remediating the sites.
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace revealed the information in a Question on Notice tabled in Parliament. She explained that the safety of students, staff and visitors remains the department’s highest priority.
She explained that it wasn’t uncommon to find asbestos in public schools in the state.
The removal of asbestos material in state schools has come at a cost for the Queensland government, with more than $12 million spent on remediation works in 2019-20. The spending on audits in the last financial year to February came close to $900,000.
After it was revealed last year that the state’s Sunnybank State High School was the site of an asbestos breach, the Education Department has
committed more money and resources to auditing and remediating the asbestos from the buildings.
The Education Department explained that in the case of Sunnybank High, the air conditioning contractor who had been involved in the WHS breach had been suspended.
Ms Grace explained the prevalence of asbestos-containing material (ACM) in public buildings across the state was common, as the material was used extensively in building products until the late 1980s.
“As many Queensland schools were built before 1990, it is not uncommon for ACM to be present in these facilities. It is important to know that ACM that is in good condition and left untouched is relatively low risk,” Ms Grace said in her response.
“To ensure the safety of students and staff, the condition of ACM in departmental facilities is monitored closely through asbestos audits conducted by the Department of Energy and Public Works, QBuild.”