In short: Home renovations involving fibro and other asbestos products are a major cause of mesothelioma in Australia, and even a brief exposure can cause the disease. Courts have found asbestos manufacturers, including the former James Hardie company, liable to home renovators.
The number of Australians diagnosed with mesothelioma (an incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos) has risen steadily over the past 40 years, and home renovation has become a significant source of exposure.
Exposure outside work has been described as a “third wave” of asbestos disease. The first wave was people who became ill from mining and milling raw asbestos and making asbestos products. The second wave was people who used asbestos products in industry. The third wave is people whose exposure (often small) came from home renovations.
How do home renovations expose people to asbestos?
About one in three Australian homes contains asbestos. If your home was built before 1983, it is likely to contain some asbestos materials. Asbestos was used in flat sheet for internal and external walls, thick sheets for floors, roofing sheets, moulded sheets, floor coverings, water and sewerage pipes, and in many other ways.
There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. Even brief exposure to asbestos dust can cause mesothelioma. People with mesothelioma have included people with a single exposure to asbestos. Some were children at the time building or renovation work involving asbestos was carried out, and may have played with offcuts of asbestos cement sheets.
Courts have found asbestos manufacturers liable to people exposed to their products during home renovations. In Amaca Pty Ltd v Werfel [2020] SASCFC 125, the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia upheld a finding that the former James Hardie company owed a duty to warn home renovators about the risks of its asbestos cement products already in place in homes. The High Court refused James Hardie special leave to appeal.
How can Segelov Taylor Lawyers help?
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, speak with a lawyer experienced in acting for people with asbestos diseases. An experienced lawyer will help identify an exposure to asbestos and advise you of any right you have to claim compensation.
Tanya Segelov has acted for hundreds of people with mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases since 1994, including the late asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton in both his claims against his former employer, James Hardie. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please contact Tanya on 1800 430 855 or at tanya@segelovtaylor.com.au to arrange a time to meet at your home, in hospital or at our offices in Sydney or Melbourne. We act for people in every Australian state.
What does a claim cost?
We act in asbestos claims on a no win, no fee basis. You pay nothing upfront. We pay all the disbursements in your claim, such as medical reports and court filing fees, as the claim runs. If your claim does not succeed, you do not pay our fees and you do not repay those disbursements. We do not charge an uplift fee. We explain our costs in writing before you sign anything.
Read more: What if I cannot recall where I was exposed to asbestos? and Common questions about mesothelioma and asbestos
Reviewed by David Taylor, Segelov Taylor Lawyers, September 2026.