Communicating about asbestos risk can be challenging. Practical guidance has been developed to help ensure that information communicated to the Australian public is clear, consistent and evidence based.
Communicating about asbestos
Asbestos is a highly emotive issue that can quickly escalate and cause public alarm, therefore it is important to know how to communicate the risk of harm effectively to address public concerns.
The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency created two guides on how to communicate about asbestos. These guides are for communicators in both government and non-government organisations.
Guidelines for communicating asbestos risk to the public
The Guidelines for communicating asbestos risk to the public is a ‘how to’ for developing effective messages to prevent or respond to asbestos exposure.
The Guidelines explore key challenges associated with asbestos communication, including dealing with uncertainty and different risk perceptions. Key principles to address these challenges are to:
- Invest in preventive communication
- Provide authority and expertise
- Be open, honest and factual
- Acknowledge uncertainty
- Give people respect and control
- Be collaborative and responsible
The Guidelines also include information on how to craft a preventive message and how to communicate in response to potential asbestos exposure.
Communicating asbestos facts and figures to the public
This guide has model language that can be used to communicate key facts and figures with the aim of achieving nationally consistent messaging. This guide was updated in March 2025.
It contains verified information about asbestos to remove variations in public information, which often acts as a barrier to achieving good public health outcomes.
Combined, these resources will help communicators overcome the challenges involved in communicating about asbestos risks.
