The National Capital Authority, which oversees land in the parliamentary triangle, said in a statement it had sectioned off "a significant portion of Acton Peninsula as a precautionary safety measure to protect the public from possible asbestos contamination".

The fencing can be seen just at the entrance to the NMA carpark.

A member of the public recently alerted the NCA to suspected asbestos surfacing on the track, their statement said, and they engaged an expert to conduct visual inspection, soil sampling and lab analysis.

"The results came back positive for asbestos within surface soils but negative for asbestos in the atmosphere, meaning it is not airborne and air quality is safe," the NCA statement said.

"Air monitoring will continue and the NCA is extending the inspections and surveys to the whole peninsula."

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It is believed heavy rainfall in recent months may have contributed to soil erosion, bringing to the surface "asbestos along the path that could have been buried for some time", they said.

The authority said it was following the advice of asbestos specialists and assessors, and will only remove the fencing once it could be confirmed the Acton Pensinula walking track was safe.

They advised the public to instead use the footpath on Lawson Street to reach the museum, and said updates would be posted to their website, including remediation plans once the full testing had been completed.

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