The company at the centre of allegations of household goods being taken from Fluffy homes has been told it must remove no more fixtures, fittings and contents from homes until a police investigation and a separate government investigation is complete.
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The company is allowed to continue demolishing Fluffy homes, but an Asbestos Taskforce spokeswoman confirmed conditions had been imposed on the company's handling of household goods.
Government officials also visited a yard used by a demolition company on Thursday and took an inventory of items in the yard and a shipping container on site. A procurement spokesperson said swabs had also been taken and had been clear of asbestos fibres.
The move came after a former worker, who was sacked by the company this week, went to the construction union alleging widespread removal of Fluffy goods in two demolition firms for whom he has worked.
The news outraged Fluffy owners, including Lisa Ziolkowski, who said she had taken to her couch with scissors, to her fridge with a hammer, and had smashed television screens to ensure the items weren't looted when she left the home almost two years ago.
Her family's clothes, her children's toys, and almost all of her furniture and possessions remain in the house, and the idea that someone might go through them to look for items to take or sell makes her feel physically ill, she said.
"It's still there like a tomb of our past life. It's listed for demolition in July next year but in light of this I feel like I want to watch over it very closely ...
"The idea that red paint will just be turpsed off is just reprehensible. I can't tell you how sick that makes me feel. It's your privacy. It's still my private life in there. It's a whole history of my family we just had to walk out on and I don't think anybody has the right to be rifling through any of that stuff."
Mrs Ziolkowski was just one of a number of Fluffy owners and neighbours who contacted The Canberra Times on Wednesday, with looting concerns which they said had been ongoing.
Demolition companies are supposed to send all household items to the tip, some to contaminated waste, with limited recycling allowed. But they are not allowed to resell or reuse anything in the homes. The worker, who was sacked this week, alleges demolition workers were tasked with removing the Asbestos Taskforce's red paint on household items and taking them from houses.
He also alleges safety breaches, including workers removing kitchens without wearing protective masks.
The Canberra Times has visited a demolition yard where the CFMEU photographed a wall unit showing signs of red paint, which is now stored in a shipping container with other household goods. The company told the union the goods had been shipped from Brisbane.
The allegations came from one worker and remain uncorroborated. But they have sparked a police investigation and an investigation by the government's procurement and capital works section. On Wednesday, procurement appointed an independent auditor to investigate.
Unions ACT echoed the CFMEU's call for the demolitions to stop pending investigations. Secretary Alex White said all Fluffy asbestos licences should be suspended and the company involved should be suspended from the Master Builders Association.
The taskforce spokeswoman said there had been "a small number of allegations" relating to fixtures and fittings in the past. Each time, procurement officials had looked into the allegations and found no evidence.
Mrs Ziolkowski said she was grateful to the worker who should be proud of his decision to come forward.
She and her family, including a three-year-old and a baby, fled their home in mid 2014 when blue crocidolite asbestos, a more dangerous form than the more common brown amosite, was found throughout. She was allowed back in wearing a full protective suit last year and said that was when she thought to destroy items that might be taken.
She was "completely disillusioned and disappointed".
"I'm absolutely furious that houses like mine where a majority of things have been left behind are now being considered like a warehouse of secondhand goods," she said.
Taskforce head Andrew Kefford briefed Minister Mick Gentleman on Wednesday and again on Thursday.
