Australians are being asked to think twice about asbestos as new research reveals a surge in DIY home improvements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of 1506 home improvers commissioned by the Asbestos Safety Eradication Agency, for National Asbestos Awareness Week (22-28 November 2021) found: • 46 per cent of those intending to do home improvement works cited pandemic-related motivations for doing so; • 38 per cent have worked on a risky property built between 1940 and 1990, the decades of greatest concern and; • 28 per cent of those who had found asbestos admitted to illegally disposing of it, most commonly placing it in their household bin or a neighbour’s. Asbestos Safety Eradication Agency CEO Justine Ross said the increase in home improvement has prompted concerns over an increase in asbestos exposure.