Canberra's Education Disruption Continues
The chaos surrounding school closures in the Australian Capital Territory has stretched into a third consecutive day, as a major health scare involving potentially asbestos-contaminated decorative sand continues to disrupt the education of thousands of students. On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 25 public schools will remain completely closed, while another 16 will operate with partial closures, unable to accommodate all year groups.
This situation marks a significant, though incomplete, improvement from the previous day, when a staggering 70 schools were shut down. The disruption stems from the discovery of chrysotile asbestos in sand products used for art and sensory play in schools across the territory.
Ongoing Testing and Remediation Efforts
Education Minister Yvette Berry addressed the ongoing crisis on Monday evening, stating, "Tomorrow, testing and remediation will continue in all of the impacted schools." The government is adopting an extremely cautious approach, treating the potential presence of asbestos as a confirmed case until proven otherwise.
This protocol mandates that only registered asbestos contractors can remove the suspect sand and advise on cleaning practices. All airborne testing conducted so far has returned negative results for asbestos, providing a measure of reassurance. However, authorities are still awaiting the outcomes of more detailed fibre testing.
The extensive closures were triggered late on Sunday night when the Education Directorate made the decisive call to shut down 69 schools at 5pm. This decision came after a second brand of sand was reported as a potential asbestos risk. The communication of this last-minute decision proved challenging, with some families not receiving alerts from their schools until as late as 9pm.
On-the-Ground Response and Parental Frustration
The situation remained fluid throughout Monday. The Woden School was added to the closure list at approximately 10:30am after teachers reported the presence of decorative sand upon arrival, bringing the total number of closed schools to 70.
At Black Mountain School, the remediation process was visibly underway. An asbestos removal team, clad in full personal protective equipment including plastic suits, masks, and shoe covers, arrived at 12:30pm. They cordoned off the area with tape warning of a "danger asbestos dust hazard." Despite the team spending two-and-a-half hours inside the school and emerging with bagged and wrapped material around 3pm, the school will remain closed on Tuesday.
Education Director General Jo Wood acknowledged the communication difficulties, telling a committee that some visual assessments of schools were not completed by 8pm on Sunday. Faced with the need to inform parents, the directorate made the preemptive decision to close schools until more information was available, acting under work health and safety legislation that obligates them to eliminate risk "as far as reasonably practicable."
For the 51 schools that are open, disruptions are still expected. 42 of these schools will need to close certain classrooms or relocate students to other areas within the school grounds as a precaution. Minister Berry indicated that certifying schools as safe by licensed asbestos contractors is "likely to take a number of days," suggesting that the return to normalcy will be a gradual process.
