Our Story | How we can help you | AVA Team | Patrons | Sponsors | Membership |
Donations | Get Involved | Annual Memorial Service | Our History
Our Story
The Asbestos Victims Association of South Australia (AVA) is a not-for-profit organisation. It provides support for people living with an asbestos-related disease. We also offer assistance to family members, carers, and friends. All services are provided free of charge.
We assist people affected by asbestos in both metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australian. We hold regular gatherings where patients and carers can discuss their experiences with one another. For anyone unable to attend in person, we offer a personal visit or a phone call.
Since 2000, AVA has campaigned in South Australia on behalf of victims for proper compensation and support. There have been some great wins including the Xenophon legislation to streamline and increase compensation payments to South Australians and of course the successful campaign to ensure James Hardie compensated its victims adequately. We are in contact with both medical and legal practitioners who advise our members on treatment options and compensation entitlements.
Our aim is to eliminate the occurrence of asbestos exposure in order to reduce the future incidence of asbestos-related diseases. AVA also provides up-to-date information to the community about the danger of exposure to any type of asbestos.
How we can help you
We work to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos exposure.
We provide support and advocacy for those affected by asbestos and silica-related diseases, as well as family members and carers.
AVA Team
The Asbestos Victims Association SA Inc is a not for profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. Our dedicated team selflessly donate their time to aid sufferers in the South Australian community. Asbestos exposure poses a real threat to EVERYONE, AVA SA’s team and patrons are here to provide current information and support.
| President | : | Maxine Williams |
| Vice President | : | Lesley Shears |
| Treasurer | : | Doreen Ryan |
| Office Manager | : | Brendan Shears |
| Chairperson | : | Gloria Hinks |
| Care Coordinator | : | Tracy Dietrich |
| Whyalla Support Group | : | Marlene Arthur |
Patrons
The Hon. Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia
Frances Bedford, Activist
Tony Zappia MP, member for Makin
Stuart Gordon, State Secretary AMWU
Sponsors
AVA would like to thank the following major sponsors & supporters:
Sponsor and supporter contributions greatly assist AVA in our ongoing activities
Membership
For just $15.00 each year, you can become a member of AVA. To join, click on the button below.
Or click HERE to print the form. When completed, please post to the Asbestos Victims Association (SA) Inc, Level 9 / 60 Waymouth Street Adelaide. As a member you will receive our quarterly newsletter which will keep you up to date with the latest news and events.
Direct debit to our bank account – please provide your name in the reference box so we can identify you. If you would like a written receipt, telephone the office to give us your name and address.
Ways to Pay
PayPal
Direct debit to our bank account
Direct debit to our bank account – please provide your name in the reference box so we can identify you. If you would like a written receipt, telephone the office to give us your name and address.
Beyond Bank
BSB 325-185
A/C 02252614
you can also go to a Beyond Bank branch to pay your membership
Adelaide
100 Waymouth Street
Adelaide
Port Augusta
Shop 1, Wharfland Plaza, 7 El Alamein Road
Port Augusta SA 5700
for other Beyond bank branch locations, click here ..
Whyalla
Westlands Shopping Centre, Shop 65
Whyalla Norrie SA 5608
Donations
As a non-profit organisation, AVA relies on donations to fund the expenses involved in providing our services to victims and their families. Donations to AVA come from a variety of sources, such as sponsorships by annual contributions or from families and friends.
If you prefer to ask for donations for asbestos research, we can advise you. There is wonderful work being done by Flinders Medical Centre (Professor Doug Henderson AO Research Fund), the Asbestos and Dust Disease Research Institute (NSW) and the National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease (WA). Others may prefer to include a bequest to AVA in their will as a lasting way of remembering and celebrating the person’s life, and highlighting the need for asbestos awareness and ongoing research into improved options for treatment. If we can help you with the wording of bequests or leaving a legacy in your Will, please call us on (08) 8212 6008. We can help you to ensure that your bequest is used in the manner you intend.
Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult times we have to face in life and finding ways of coping is different for everyone. As part of that journey, some may choose to donate to a support organisation such as AVA. This can be done by asking people to make a donation in lieu of flowers at the funeral service. AVA can supply envelopes for this purpose.
Direct debit
to our bank account – please provide your name in the reference box so we can identify you. If you would like a written receipt, telephone the office to give us your name and address.
Beyond Bank
BSB 325-185
A/C 02252614
Get Involved
Volunteering
There are many ways you can get involved by volunteering with AVA.
To help bring awareness for asbestos safety to the community, we have activities, like brochure’s distribution, to community events, the home show, Bunnings trade show, to country shows. These events are an important way to raise community awareness about asbestos.
Support network
Support others through social mornings which are held across the metropolitan area. This is a great opportunity to meet and speak with others in a supportive environment.
Administration
from time-to-time, extra assistance is needed in our office
Annual Memorial Service
Salisbury Memorial
Every year during National Asbestos Awareness Week AVA holds its Annual Memorial Service at Pitman Park, Salisbury with the support of the Council of the City of Salisbury. The Council established a memorial stone in Pitman Park in 2005 with a plaque to acknowledge all asbestos victims, including the many local people who worked at the James Hardie asbestos factory at Elizabeth West. Many of those people were subsequently diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and sadly lost their lives as a result.
The service is attended by many who have lost a loved one to an asbestos related disease, as well as dignitaries who support AVA. After an acknowledgment of country and a brief service, there are speakers with messages of support and people affected by asbestos tell their stories. Following this, there is a one-minute silence of remembrance. The Pipes & Drums of the Royal Caledonian Society of SA then play Amazing Grace – it is a very affecting experience.
Floral Tributes are laid, and attendees have the opportunity to leave flowers by the cross of their loved ones. The pipers play again to close the ceremony.
Whyalla Memorial
The Whyalla Shipyards were among the largest shipyards in Australia, operating from 1941 to 1978. Over that time many of the workforce – about 20,000 people – were exposed to large quantities of asbestos dust and fibre. Others were exposed to asbestos while working at the Steelworks.
At the shipyards, asbestos was used in various ways. Laggers were employed to insulate pipes and boilers on board ships and to spray asbestos fibre on bulkheads. Many workers were present when the asbestos was installed and sprayed. Others were exposed when removing asbestos during refits and carrying out repairs, or working alongside others doing this work.
AVA’s Whyalla branch holds its Memorial Day service at Mount Laura Homestead. The service is held in the garden and crosses are placed on the lawn to commemorate the lives lost to asbestos.
There is a permanent memorial to asbestos victims – a reflection site where family or friends can sit & reflect whenever they please. Each leaf of the tree carries the name of someone who has passed away from asbestos disease.
Our History
The James Hardie factory in Elizabeth was opened in 1962 to manufacture asbestos cement pipes. The factory itself was built from the company’s asbestos corrugated sheets.
As time went by, there were concerns about the health of the people who worked there. In October 2000, one man made a claim against the company but was initially unsuccessful as Hardie’s lawyers denied that he had worked there. Colin Arthur had also worked at the factory and was able to vouch for the man.
Colin held a meeting in the Northern suburbs asking for anyone who could support his evidence. Many local residents came to the meeting and the Asbestos Victims Association was formed soon after, with assistance from Salisbury Council. At first, AVA was run by Colin and his wife from their home, but soon a more suitable venue was needed. The AMWU at Dulwich had a room available and AVA was up and running, with all office facilities. Letters were sent to relevant unions, community groups and councils advertising AVA’s free services. Volunteers were needed and many came, to help in the office and speak to anyone needing advice. In 2003 Colin’s health was declining, and Terry Miller took over as President. Terry was a true working-class hero who continued to fight for justice for asbestos victims until his death from asbestosis in 2018. There is a plaque in memory of Terry on the memorial stone at Pitman Park.
AVA has helped many hundreds of victims of asbestos exposure, along with their family & friends. AVA has successfully campaigned in South Australia for proper compensation and support on behalf of victims. There have been some great wins, including the Xenophon legislation to streamline and increase compensation payments to South Australians and the successful campaign to ensure James Hardie compensated its victims adequately.
Melissa Haylock is a part of AVA’s story. She contracted mesothelioma at the age of 41 years. Her only exposure to asbestos was as a small child when her father picked her up to cuddle and play with her while covered in asbestos dust from renovating their home in Adelaide. Melissa made a claim against James Hardie, the manufacturer of the asbestos cement sheets her father used.
At the time Melissa contracted mesothelioma, she had eight-year-old triplets. Her claim against James Hardie included the cost of replacing the care that she would have provided to her children. At that time, the law in South Australia did not permit such damages to be awarded.
Nick Xenophon and AVA made submissions to the Government on behalf of Melissa and lobbied to have the law changed to allow people such as Melissa to claim for the cost of replacing their services for the benefit of others.
After much lobbying and media attention, the law was amended. Turner Freeman Lawyers were able to settle Melissa’s claim for a substantial figure that included damages for the cost of replacing her services as a mother, the first such case in South Australia. Melissa’s courageous battle and public plea resulted in a new system for asbestos claims in South Australia that benefited all who came after her.
Peter Beinke was an Adelaide man who undertook an electrical apprenticeship in the 1970s. Peter spent part of his life as a priest on Kangaroo Island, and many people from the island recalled his kindness. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma later in life as a result of asbestos exposure while working as an electrician. After he moved to Adelaide, Peter would drop into the AVA office where he would sit and crochet while he talked. He was happy to teach others, and people in the office gladly joined in that activity. Pam Sandys and Maxine Williams attended his funeral service on behalf of AVA, where family members, along with friends in his community, joined in celebrating his life. There was a big tub of beanies at his funeral, all crocheted by Peter, as mementos for people to take away.
Peter generously left a bequest to AVA to provide financial support to people from regional areas who have to travel to Adelaide for treatment or support
1936 – 2007
Passed 31-5-2018
1963 – 2008
1953 – 2014