Advocacy Australia and Asbestos Education Committee
Key Facts:
• National Volunteer Week 2026 • Mackay volunteer Phil Smith has won the Queensland New Volunteer Award 2026. • Phil created Ride In Shorts For Leah after losing his wife Leah to asbestos-related cancer in 2024. • He began volunteering just 12 weeks after Leah’s passing. • Phil has contributed more than 1,200 volunteer hours since November 2024. • The initiative has raised more than $47,000 for asbestos education and prevention. • Ride In Shorts For Leah now has participants across every Australian state and territory. • More than 4,000 Australians die from asbestos-related diseases each year.
• 1 in 3 Australian homes contain asbestos. •
/Public Release.
