Kmart Australia has recalled its Anko brand Make Your Own Unicorn Sand Ornament. The sets contain loose coloured play sand that may include asbestos, which is a prohibited substance in Australia. The 3 December recall is in addition to a Kmart recall of children’s sand products issued last month.

24 November 2025

A voluntarily recall initiated by Sax International Pty Ltd was issued on 24 November 2025 and relates to two models of the MIKI Sand Art Set. The company tested the product, and the results detected unidentified mineral fibres that were consistent with tremolite.

A recall  of various  Kidsplay Craft  sand and sand art party packs was published on 25 November after initial testing in some samples found chrysotile asbestos and unidentified mineral fibres that could be consistent with tremolite asbestos.

16 November 2025

A recall of children’s sand products that may contain asbestos has been expanded to include products sold at Kmart and Target in Australia following a recall of several similar products.

Independent testing commissioned by the Faculty of Asbestos Management of Australia and New Zealand (FAMANZ) has identified four additional coloured sand products – the 14-piece Sandcastle Building Set and the Blue, Green and Pink Magic Sand sets.

The Kmart recall follows recall notices published by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission initially published recall notices on 12 and 13 November.

The initial recall notices were issued by supplier Educational Colours for colourful children’s sand products sold at more than 80 retailers, including Officeworks, Woolworths and a range of educational and art supply stores.

The Educational Colours products were sold throughout Australia between 2020 and 2025. Consumer and Business Services’ product safety regulators have been working with retailers to prevent sales in SA.

The imported sand is brightly coloured and designed for children to play with and for educational purposes and, as set out in the recall, is labelled as Kadink Sand (1.3kg), Educational Colours - Rainbow Sand (1.3kg), Kadink Decorative sand (10g) 6 pack and Creatistics - Coloured Sand (1kg).

The products were recalled because they may contain tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring asbestos, which was detected in some samples after laboratory testing. Asbestos is a prohibited substance in Australia.

A ban and import prohibition for asbestos in Australia has been in place since 2003.

The ACCC will continue to monitor developments in relation to the products and provide updates as new information emerges.

Importantly, respiratory asbestos has not been detected in any of the tested samples. The release of respiratory asbestos fibres from the sand is unlikely to occur in its current state, unless the sand is processed by mechanical means such as crushing or pulverising.

While the risk that any asbestos found is likely to be airborne or fine enough for inhalation is low, this may still pose a risk.

SafeWork SA administers laws associated with asbestos in South Australian workplaces.

The EPA is primarily responsible for the regulation of asbestos transport and disposal in South Australia and is providing advice to households for the disposal of asbestos in coloured sands.

If you have questions about the safe disposal of asbestos in South Australia, call the EPA on 08 8204 2004.

Click here for a list of disposal sites.

What to do if you have the recalled product

If you are a PCBU:

If you believe that you may have the product in your business or undertaking (e.g. educational facility)

• Stop using the product
• Determine whether and where the product is present and then isolate/restrict access to that area (isolation should include turning off air conditioners and ceiling fans in the potentially contaminated area and closing windows and doors).
• The person conducting the business or undertaking will need to engage a licensed asbestos assessor or competent person. The licensed assessor or competent person will assess the risk and determine the appropriate remediation action and, if necessary, the class of licensed asbestos removalist required to conduct the removal work.
• Once the removal work has occurred to the satisfaction of the licensed assessor, a clearance certificate will be issued by the assessor.

If you have potentially contaminated sand in your home:

Sealed potentially contaminated coloured sand in unopened containers

• Do not open the product
• Place the product into a 200 micron plastic waste bag or, suitable alternate waste container dedicated for asbestos waste that is clearly labelled with an appropriate warning sign indicating asbestos waste.
• Dispose of it at an appropriate asbestos disposal facility

Minor potentially contaminated coloured sand (On a hard surface)

• Identify location of the sand.
• Stop using the sand,
• Determine whether your sand is the potentially contaminated product and where the sand is present.

If you are not confident, or uncomfortable, cleaning the potentially contaminated area yourself, you should take the following steps:

• Contact a licensed asbestos assessor or competent person and advise of your situation. The licensed assessor or competent person will assess the risk and determine the appropriate remediation action and, if necessary, the class of licensed asbestos removalist required to conduct the removal work.
• Once the removal work has occurred to the satisfaction of the licensed assessor or competent person, a clearance certificate will be issued by the assessor.

You may choose to clean the potentially contaminated area. If you choose to do so you should take the following steps:

• Wear disposable gloves. Tuck the gloves under the elasticised cuffs of your clothing. If the cuffs are loose, tape them down to create a proper seal.
• Wear a P2 rated face mask. Do not use a standard dust mask. A P2 respirator should fit snugly and cover half your face.
• Wear protective eyewear. Use safety glasses to protect your eyes from dust and debris.
• Do not use a domestic vacuum cleaner.
• Use the wet spray method to wet the potentially contaminated area. For very small areas, a small spray water bottle may be sufficient (you can also add a small amount of surfactant (cleaning product) into the water which will help to limit dust generation). In all cases, the use of water should be in the form of a mist to minimise the potential to generate any dust (Note: Airborne asbestos fibres can be significantly suppressed when the wet spray method is used; however, they may not be entirely eliminated so effective PPE (see above) is also essential).
• The wetted material should be removed (e.g. via a wet cloth).
• Alternatively, wet wipes/ wet paper towels can also be used to clean up the material. This involves using a wet wipe to wipe and collect the material (with the same PPE). This material and wipes can be all be disposed of in the waste bag.
• To effectively decontaminate yourself after the clean-up, remove gloves by rolling them down gently, taking care to keep the gloves inside out to contain any potential contamination. Keeping the P2 mask on, wipe hands and face around the mask with a wet wipe or wet paper towel to remove any potential fibres on your skin. Remove face mask and wipe hands again.
• Place the product, wet cloth/wipe, gloves, and P2 mask / filter into a 200-micron plastic waste bag or, suitable alternate waste container dedicated for asbestos waste that is clearly labelled with an appropriate warning sign indicating asbestos waste.
• Dispose of it at an appropriate asbestos disposal facility.

Information on asbestos can be found on the South Australian Government asbestos website www.asbestos.sa.gov.au(external site) which provides practical information about asbestos.

Further links

• The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency website(external site)
• Asbestos.sa.gov.au(external site)
• ACCC media release
• Disposal facilities