New Zealand Proposes Asbestos Testing for Specified Sand Products

SafeGuardSHardgoods, Toys and Juvenile Products22 Sep 2026

SG 127/26

New Zealand publishes ban on asbestos in toys and other goods.

On September 4, 2026, the WTO announced New Zealand’s draft Unsafe Goods (Consumer Sand Products) Notice 2026, which would prohibit asbestos in specified consumer sand products, including toy sand, toys containing sand and certain decorative, craft or artistic products.

What does the draft notice require?

Key proposed requirements are summarized in Table 1.

Substance	Scope¹	Requirement
Asbestos	Toy sand Toys containing sand Decorative, craft or artistic sand Decorative, craft or artistic goods containing accessible sand	Not detected in accordance with ISO 22262-2:2026 using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis ²^, ³ Certificates, reports or results must be dated no more than 12 months before the goods are imported into or manufactured in New Zealand
¹Exempts sand produced by natural geological processes that is intended to fill sand pits, playgrounds, or other recreational areas ²Sand contained in at least three separate units must be tested for each product or product variant ³Testing laboratories must be accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, with the method of analysis in the scope of accreditation.

Substance

Scope¹

Requirement

Asbestos

Toy sand
Toys containing sand
Decorative, craft or artistic sand
Decorative, craft or artistic goods containing accessible sand

Not detected in accordance with ISO 22262-2:2026 using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis ²^, ³

Certificates, reports or results must be dated no more than 12 months before the goods are imported into or manufactured in New Zealand

¹Exempts sand produced by natural geological processes that is intended to fill sand pits, playgrounds, or other recreational areas
²Sand contained in at least three separate units must be tested for each product or product variant
³Testing laboratories must be accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, with the method of analysis in the scope of accreditation.

Table 1

Who is impacted?

The draft notice would affect businesses involved in supplying toy sand and other specified goods containing sand in New Zealand, including manufacturers, importers and retailers.

When is the deadline for submitting comments?

Comments will be accepted until September 25, 2026.

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