Asbestos in Australian homes is getting older and degrading, increasing the risk that harmful fibres are released. This report details the results of a randomised control trial to determine which financial incentives would encourage homeowners to proactively remove asbestos from their properties.

An online survey of 4,400 homeowners was conducted to determine which financial incentives would encourage homeowners to proactively remove asbestos from their properties. Respondents completed a discrete choice experiment.

The report is accompanied by a technical report and pre-analysis plan.

Key findings

• Many homeowners do not know if they have asbestos or not. Furthermore, many are not motivated to find out. Incentives that encourage discovery may lead to an increase in asbestos removal rates.
• While many homeowners indicate that health concerns would encourage proactive removal, in practice most homeowners remove asbestos only when renovating.
• Of the incentives tested in a discrete choice experiment, homeowners strongly preferred grants – but grants can have economic downsides, like cost inflation.
• Although costs vary widely and can be prohibitive, most homeowners could afford many asbestos removal jobs. Clearly communicating the likely price, process and benefits may clarify that asbestos removal is achievable.