Hobart’s prestigious The Friends School has joined a growing list of Tasmanian schools forced to close due to asbestos contamination concerns in children’s coloured sand products.
The Friends School announced late Monday that its early learning, primary and middle school areas would be closed on Tuesday for “precautionary cleaning, review, and safety checks” related to potentially contaminated sand materials.
In an email to parents seen by Pulse, Principal Esther Hill reassured families that “current national guidance considers the health risk to be low” and that “respirable asbestos fibres have not been detected in any tested samples”.
“FEL, Primary and Middle School students and parents/guardians are asked to stay at home and further information will be sent in the morning,” Hill said.
It follows Northern Christian School in Bridgewater being the first in the state to announce its closure around 4pm on Monday, after confirming recalled sand products had been used on campus.
Catholic Education Tasmania quickly followed suit, implementing full closures at six of its schools and partial closures at three others across the state.
Full closures are now in place at Corpus Christi Catholic School in Bellerive, Sacred Heart Catholic School in Geeveston, St Brigid’s Catholic School in Wynyard, St John’s Catholic School in Richmond, St Peter Chanel Catholic School in Smithton and St Cuthbert’s Catholic School in Lindisfarne.
Partial closures are also in place at Sacred Heart College in New Town (K-5 closed), St Aloysius Catholic College in Kingston (K-4 closed) and Immaculate Heart Catholic School in Lenah Valley (Kinder and Prep).
“Our communities can be confident that we are acting quickly, carefully and in alignment with professional guidance,” Catholic Education Tasmania Executive Director Dr Gerard Gaskin said.
The closures come after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recalled several children’s coloured sand products sold between 2020 and 2025 after testing identified naturally occurring asbestos in multiple imported items.
The affected products were sold through major retailers including Kmart, Target and Officeworks, as well as educational suppliers, with over 80 retailers nationwide stocking one or more of the impacted items.
Brad Parker from WorkSafe Tasmania issued an urgent safety alert last Friday, warning that while “the immediate risk from unopened products appears low, disturbing the sand increases the potential for fibre release”.
Northern Christian School has engaged licensed asbestos assessors and expects to reopen next Monday, pending clearance.
Other affected schools are expected to provide further updates to parents in the coming hours and days.
