The Federal Government has released a draft consultation plan for the formation of a national plan on asbestos safety and eradication, following a meeting between Minister for Workplace Relations Bill Shorten and the Select Council on Workplace Relations.

Mr Shorten said that the proposed National Strategic Plan for Asbestos Awareness and Management will counter the deadly legacy of asbestos-containing material in the nation’s built environment.

"It’s been almost a decade since asbestos was banned in this country and still, today, the dangers of this silent killer remain. Asbestos is the worst industrial menace that will go on killing for decades,” Mr Shorten said.

"The sad truth is that asbestos-related deaths are not expected to peak until 2020, and that tragically, we are expecting another 30-40,000 people to be diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases in the next 20 years. There are children not yet born who will die of asbestos-related diseases. We owe it to future generations to come to grips with the blight of asbestos.”

The draft plan is available online http://deewr.gov.au/office-asbestos-safety