Betty The Asbestos Education House
The first and only exhibit of her kind in Australia and the world, Betty – The Asbestos Education House is a community engagement and experiential awareness tool with the mission to save lives through educating Australians about the dangers of asbestos and how to manage it safely.
Created by Insight Communications, Betty is a purpose-engineered, mobile model home designed to demonstrate where asbestos might be found in and around any Australian home built or renovated before 1990. Betty’s exterior resembles a typical fibro home but when opened, she has extensive audio and visual information including a bathroom, kitchen, living room, man shed/garage and a doghouse.
Betty features integrated audio-visual capability and independent power supply, enabling exhibitions in metropolitan, regional and remote locations, including field days and outdoor events. Weighing approximately 1.42 tonnes and measuring 5.5 metres in length (including tow bar), 2.4 metres in height and 2.9 metres in width, Betty requires an appropriate four-wheel-drive tow vehicle for safe transport and deployment.
Betty drives traffic to asbestosawareness.com.au free resources
A key additional purpose of Betty is to direct Australians to asbestosawareness.com.au. Betty is a proven, award-winning experiential education initiative, and when she’s deployed, website traffic increases by around 190%, demonstrating strong behaviour-response and information uptake of our authoritative, practical education resources.
Between 2012 to 2017, Betty travelled more than 65,000 kilometres across every state and territory except Western Australia, appearing at hundreds of council, community, trade and industry events including major field days (AGQUIP), home shows and community shows (Sydney Royal Easter Show twice), retail outlets and over 73 Bunnings Warehouse Stores with tour funding and a tow vehicle provided by SafeWork NSW.
Betty has toured as far West as Uluru, as Far North as Cairns, as far South as Port Arthur (after a trip on the Spirit of Tasmania), and has toured to the back of Bourke, Coober Peedy and beyond.
To date, during Betty’s lifesaving adventures she’s delivered 265 public appearances, supported 213 media calls, and featured in more than 1,050 media pieces including national television, print radio and online, in multiple states and jurisdictions.
Geoff and Karen Wicks – Betty’s Curators
Betty’s tours are supported by her trained volunteer curators and chauffeurs, Geoff and Karen Wicks who enable Betty to educate the community while tending to her maintenance and upkeep. Geoff, a retired avionics engineer and avid DIYer and Karen, a retired hospitality professional, make a highly skilled team that delivers Betty’s lifesaving asbestos education message.
In recognition of their long-standing service to the community (since 2012), Geoff and Karen have been recognised with two SafeWork NSW special awards and a NSW Volunteer Team of the Year award.
National and International Recognition of Betty and Asbestos Awareness
Betty, asbestosawareness.com.au and our Australia-wide Asbestos Awareness campaigns have received national and international recognition from researchers, academics, asbestos diseases support groups and industry leaders for sustained public health asbestos awareness and prevention education activities.
Funding for Betty is Needed
Despite Betty’s proven effectiveness, since 2018, except for a handful of appearances, Betty has been off the road due to funding cuts. To help save lives, sustainable funding is desperately needed to maintain Betty’s operations, support touring capacity and extend delivery of this vital resource to under-served regions.
Only through funding can we ensure Betty and her dedicated crew can get back on the road to educate the community about asbestos risks and how to manage asbestos safely.
Betty’s Impact Snapshot
Since launching in November 2012 Betty has:
- Travelled over 67,000 km (as of March 2026)
- Had 265 public appearances
- Held 213 Media Call events
- Generated +1050 media pieces across TV, print, radio and online
- Been displayed at 73 Bunnings Stores in NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, and VIC
- Attended 13 TAFEs
- Toured every state and territory except WA.
- Partnered with councils across NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, and VIC
- V
isited various community events including:
- TAFE NSW
- The Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2013 and 2015
- The Sydney Home Show
- AGQUIP
- Disaster Risk Awareness Festival 2025
- The Ballina Home Show
- Coffs Harbour Waste Conference
- Home and Garden Show Bowral
- Lithgow Council Annual Safety Day 2014
- The Living Room
- Mona Vale Markets
- NAIDOC Week Events 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2018
- Parramatta Council’s Australia Day Celebrations at Parramatta Park
- Ag Shows: The Royal Agricultural Society’s Camden Show, Parks Show and Condobolin Show
- Tocal Field Days
- Festivals: Seven Hills Festival 2025, Wilmot Festival 2024, Georges River Council’s Oatley Village Festival
- Fairs: Strathfield Spring Fair, Hills Shire Council’s Crestwood Fair
Follow Betty on Facebook
To partner with Asbestos Awareness and become a sponsor of Betty and the vehicle that tows her, please contact us to request a Partnership Prospectus.
Betty Physical Stats:
- Weight: 1.42 Tonne
- Towbar Weight: 100kg
- Body Length With Draw Bar: 5.5m Long
- Body Length – Just House: 3.6m Long
- Width: 2.4m Wide
- Height: 2.9m Tall
- Power: 240v – also has her own generator
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