Extract from ABC News
Fake stone products will be stopped at the Australian border from Jan 1. (Unsplash: Christian Mackie)
In short:
Imports of fake stone will be banned from January 1 next year.
The product is often used in benchtops but can cause a deadly lung disease.
What's next?
Tradies will now also be required to comply with new workplace health and safety rules for the handling of all materials containing at least 1 per cent crystalline silica, which can include products such as sandstone and bricks.
Fake stone products will be stopped at the Australian border from next year, marking the final step in a national ban on the once-popular building material, which can cause the deadly dust disease silicosis.
The Albanese government will today announce a ban on the importation of engineered stone benchtops, slabs and panels from January 1, 2025.
Engineered stone, a popular material often used for kitchen benches, has been linked to a surge in deadly lung disease among stonemasons due to its high silica content.
Last year, a Safe Work Australia report found the stone posed an "unacceptable risk" to stonemasons during the cutting process, prompting the government to announce a national ban on the use and supply of fake stone.
Australia is the first country to prohibit the fake stone.
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said a ban on imports provided an extra layer of deterrent at the border.
"No one deserves to have their health compromised due to their working environment," he said.
"These illnesses have been devastating and debilitating for Australian workers and their families, and we cannot continue to allow it to happen."
The first recorded case of silicosis in Australia was in 2015, and since then a growing number of doctors warned the disease could become the "next asbestosis" without intervention.
There is no cure for silicosis, which can be caused by the fine dust created by cutting engineered stone. (Pexels: Derwin Edwards)
The number of people who have died from silicosis is unclear, but a suite of new rules to try and prevent the disease in stonemasons includes a new national register of diagnoses and deaths.
The disease has no cure, and the ABC has spoken to dozens of former stone cutters who were exposed to "plumes" of the fine dust at workplaces across the country.
Most engineered stone products used in Australia are imported from overseas.
Housing Industry Australia's industry and policy chief executive Simon Croft said the industry was expecting a ban on imports to follow the domestic ban.
"Additional rules around the import ban provide that surety, because a lot of the products can look similar," he said.
Mr Croft said the building industry had managed to source new products for kitchen benchtops, such as porcelain and zero silica mineral surface products.
He said the transition had been haphazardly implemented in different states and territories.
Most engineered stone products used in Australia are imported from overseas. (ABC South East SA: Emma Pedler)
"We would have loved to have seen a consistent transition plan to be implemented but the industry is working within the rules that the government has set."
Silica is also found in much smaller quantities in other products, such as bricks and sandstone.
From September 1, tradies have also been required to comply with new workplace health and safety rules for the handling of all materials containing at least 1 per cent crystalline silica.
The government provided $32.1 million over two years to the Australian Border Force to enforce the import prohibition in this year's Budget.
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