You have pulled a sheet off the back of a shed or found a stamp under the eaves reading Hardiflex or Villaboard, and now you are stuck between two very different next steps: an $88 to $160 lab test, or an $800 to $1,500 minimum call-out for a removalist you have not even booked. That single question, is my fibro asbestos, is the one almost every Geelong homeowner asks before they touch anything else.
The honest answer is that the brand name will not settle it on its own. Hardiflex, Villaboard and half a dozen other names were sold for decades, sometimes with asbestos and sometimes without, depending on when the particular sheet was made. This article explains what those old names actually mean, where the sheeting tends to turn up around Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast, and how to get a straight answer without doing anything risky first.
Why a name like Hardiflex or Villaboard doesn’t prove it’s asbestos
Fibro is the local word for asbestos cement sheeting, but not every sheet that ever carried a brand name like Hardiflex or Villaboard contained asbestos. Both were long-running product lines, and the manufacturers kept selling sheeting under the same names after they switched to other materials.
James Hardie’s own fact sheet on the subject states plainly that the company “ceased using asbestos in its building products in 1985” and that its products “have been and continue to be asbestos-free” since then. The federal government’s Asbestos Product Guide adds the detail that matters for identification: after Hardie stopped using asbestos, it manufactured “a near identical cellulose fibre product to Hardiflex” under the name Hardiflex II, sometimes branded on the underside edging. Villaboard has a longer history again. It was first made by Wunderlich, then by CSR still under the Wunderlich brand, then by Hardies, and James Hardie sells a non-asbestos product with the same name today.
So a sheet stamped Hardiflex could be a 1970s asbestos cement sheet or a 1990s cellulose fibre replacement that looks almost identical once painted. Asbestos Victoria puts it simply: you cannot tell if a material contains asbestos just by looking at it, and only scientific testing of a sample confirms it. What the same page does offer is an age-based likelihood, which is a useful starting point rather than a verdict. Material from before the mid-1980s is highly likely to contain asbestos, material from the mid-1980s to 1990 is likely to, and material installed after 1990 is unlikely to.
If you have already found a stamped sheet and you are not sure what decade it went up, that uncertainty is completely normal. Call now or send us a photo through the contact form and we will explain how sampling works and put you in touch with a licensed removalist if the result comes back positive. Get it tested before you touch it. Testing is the cheap, honest first step, and it is the one thing worth doing before anything else on this list.
The old asbestos brand names that turn up on Geelong sheeting
Hardiflex and Villaboard are the two names people ask about most, but the federal Asbestos Product Guide lists a long run of brands that were sold across Australia for the same purposes: Fibrolite, Fibrock, Tasbestos, Durabestos, Versilux, Wunderflex, Flexboard, Endurite and Duracast among others, alongside fencing-specific names like Super Six, Durawall, Ribwall, Hardiplank and Shadowline. Any of them can appear on a Geelong property built before 1990.
Villaboard specifically was a water-resistant asbestos cement sheet used for interior linings, most often behind wall tiles, above the tiled height in bathrooms, behind kitchen splashbacks and as cupboard backing. Hardiflex turns up in more places again: soffit and eaves panelling, flat wall sheeting and fencing, with catalogue references going back to at least 1969. Both were typically 9 mm or 12 mm thick and, once painted or wallpapered, are easy to mistake for plasterboard.
None of that is a substitute for testing. A stamp on the underside edge of a sheet is a clue about the product line, not proof of what is in it. The only way to know is a sample analysed by a NATA-accredited laboratory, which is what our asbestos testing page covers in full.
Where old fibro sheeting shows up around the Barwon region
A few real patterns turn up again and again in this part of Victoria.
Take a 1960s fibro fence line along the back boundary in Norlane. Norlane and Corio were built as Housing Commission suburbs, much of Norlane’s housing for workers at Ford, International Harvester and a phosphate works, right inside the decades when asbestos cement fencing was standard. A cracked or flaking panel on a fence like this is not an emergency if nobody is touching it, but it is exactly the kind of job that goes past the unlicensed limit. A whole fence typically runs $1,000 to $3,500 as a Melbourne-metro benchmark, or $20 to $50 per sheet, though a small sheet count still gets caught by the $800 to $1,500 minimum call-out most removalists charge.
Or a Super Six garage roof in Corio that has started to crack. Super Six was one of the most common corrugated asbestos cement roofing brands, and cracked or weathered sheets are the ones most likely to shed fibres once someone walks on them or points a pressure washer at their surface. A garage or small roof like this sits at $3,500 to $5,500 on a national cost guide. If the cracking is severe enough that the sheet crumbles rather than stays in one piece, it may have crossed from non-friable to friable, which changes the licence class required. Our guide to removing asbestos yourself in Victoria covers what that distinction changes for a homeowner.
Or eaves on a 1970s brick veneer in Belmont, uncovered halfway through a kitchen renovation. Eaves linings are one of the most common places Hardiflex-type sheeting was used, and they get disturbed the moment scaffolding or a skip bin goes up. A full set of eaves runs $1,500 to $2,500 as a Melbourne-metro benchmark, and a smaller patch still attracts the $800 to $1,500 minimum call-out.
Sheeting is not the only place old asbestos products hide. Vinyl floor tiles under carpet, for instance in an older Ocean Grove holiday house, are a different material again, with the backing and adhesive tested separately from the tile itself. That is one reason most houses need three to eight samples rather than one, because every different material has to be tested on its own. Our room-by-room guide to where asbestos hides in an old Geelong house covers the rest of the likely spots.
In any of these situations the same advice applies. Get a quote from a licensed removalist once you know what you are dealing with, or book a test first if you do not.
How old is the sheeting, and what that means for asbestos risk
| Age of the sheeting | Likelihood it contains asbestos | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Installed before the mid-1980s | Highly likely | Treat it as asbestos and get it tested before any work near it |
| Installed mid-1980s to 1990 | Likely | Get it tested before disturbing it, even if it looks identical to a newer product |
| Installed after 1990 | Unlikely | Still confirm the build date and test if you are not certain, especially before demolition work |
This is Asbestos Victoria’s own framework, not ours, and it is a starting point for a conversation with a lab, not a substitute for one. A house extended in stages can easily have sheeting from more than one of these periods under the one roofline.
Testing fibro for asbestos: what it costs and how it works
Testing is the part of this process almost nobody needs to be talked into once they understand the cost. A single sample analysed by a NATA-accredited laboratory runs $88 to $160, and most houses need three to eight samples, because a fence, an eaves lining and a bathroom wall sheet are three separate materials, not one. A standard house inspection with sampling included sits at $395 to $900. Standard turnaround is one to five business days, and a 24 to 48 hour result usually adds a surcharge of 25 to 50 per cent.
These are Melbourne-metro benchmarks, because there is no published Geelong-specific price anywhere, and prices are indicative: GST treatment varies between providers, so ask each lab or removalist whether their quote includes it. Our testing page has the full breakdown, and our guide to how testing actually works in Victoria walks through what happens between taking the sample and getting the report.
Call now to talk through what needs sampling, or send a photo through the contact form and we will point you toward testing before you go anywhere near the sheet with a saw or a pressure washer.
If the fibro tests positive for asbestos
A positive result on non-friable sheeting like an old fence panel or eaves lining does not automatically mean a huge job. Victoria’s unlicensed limit allows removal of up to 10 square metres of non-friable material without a licence, provided the total time spent on asbestos removal work does not exceed one hour in any seven-day period. Both caps have to hold at once, and the hour is cumulative across jobs, not per job.
Here is the detail that most content on this topic gets wrong. Those caps come from the OHS Regulations, which bind employers and self-employed people at workplaces. WorkSafe’s own compliance code says that where a person removes asbestos at their own home, the regulations do not apply, because a home is not a workplace, though it recommends homeowners follow the same code anyway. So it is not accurate to say a homeowner breaks the law by removing more than 10 square metres at their own house. What is accurate: that figure is the limit set for anyone doing this as work, WorkSafe recommends following it at home too, and the caps become law the moment a tradesperson, a tenant, a rental property, a business premises or a paid helper is involved.
In practice, a full fence line, a whole garage roof or a full set of eaves is usually well past both caps anyway, which is the genuine reason those jobs go to a licensed removalist rather than a Saturday with a crowbar. Friable material, such as sheeting that has crumbled rather than cracked, has no small-job exemption at all and always needs a Class A licensed removalist. Our guide to DIY removal limits in Victoria sets out the rest of what changes once a tradesperson or a rental property is involved.
Removal itself is always carried out by licensed asbestos removalists we work with, whose WorkSafe Victoria licence number appears on every quote. You contract with the removalist directly. If the job is a fence or a roof that will need replacing afterwards, that replacement is a separate matter you arrange with a registered builder once the old material is gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a stamp reading Hardiflex or Villaboard mean the sheet has asbestos?
Not on its own. Both names were sold for decades, and manufacturers kept using them after switching to non-asbestos materials, including Hardiflex II and a current asbestos-free Villaboard product. The stamp tells you the product line, not what is inside a particular sheet, so a lab test is still the only way to know.
How old does a house need to be before I should assume the sheeting is fibro asbestos?
Asbestos Victoria treats anything installed before the mid-1980s as highly likely to contain asbestos, the mid-1980s to 1990 as likely, and anything after 1990 as unlikely. A house built or extended in stages can have more than one of those periods under the same roof, so treat each material on its own merits rather than going by the age of the house as a whole.
Can I test a small piece myself before calling anyone?
You should not try to identify it by breaking or crumbling a piece yourself. What you can do is leave the material alone, avoid cutting, drilling or sweeping it, and arrange for a sample to go to a NATA-accredited laboratory. A standard sample costs $88 to $160 and most houses need three to eight of them.
What if the sheet is already cracked or partly broken?
Cracked or crumbling sheeting is more likely to have shed fibres already, so avoid walking on it, pressure washing it or trying to patch it yourself. Keep people and pets away from the area and get it tested as the next step. If the material turns out to be friable rather than bonded, it always needs a Class A licensed removalist, regardless of how small the area is.