Now a pensioner aged 69, Ms Hosie feels she is being threatened with a similar situation.

The voluntary NSW government asbestos buyback is underway, and Ms Hosie’s unit block is affected.

Across the Queanbeyan region, 60 properties have tested positive, and 41 of those are within two unit blocks.

Meanwhile, one in three homeowners who registered to have their property checked for deadly loose-fill asbestos fibres in Queanbeyan are still waiting for the investigation to take place.

Ms Hosie has been offered about $157,000 for her unit, with others in the complex extended similar prices. Five of the eight properties acquired so far by the government in Queanbeyan are in the Buttle Street complex.

However, Ms Hosie does not believe the money being offered is enough to find a similarly-located home, with the features her unit provides. She fears having to delve into her funeral savings for another mortgage.

“I would have thought [the NSW government] would have taken the pensioners and settled them on their own,” she said.

“I can’t find anything with the money they’re offering,” she said.

“All the places are so tiny and pokey and they’re all on top of each other. My little unit is virtually by itself.”

“It’s terrifying to think I've got to start all over again at this age,” Ms Hosie said.

A NSW Fair Trading spokesman said unlike in ACT where the buyback is compulsory, if homeowners in NSW do not want to participate in the scheme, that is their right.

He said even if only one or two people from a unit block refuse to leave, the block can not be demolished, but will be placed on a register of properties with loose-fill asbestos.

“Knowing that a specific property is affected by loose-fill asbestos insulation will assist the community to be informed about any risks associated with a specific property and take any appropriate safety measures,” the spokesman said.