James Hardie and NSW govt agree on asbestos

SYDNEY - James Hardie Industries says it has reached a "substantial" agreement with the NSW government over a compensation package for its asbestos victims.

"While agreement is still to be reached on the final wording of certain provisions of the principal deed and related matters, it is not expected that these are likely to prove to be impediments to final agreement being reached on all issues," James Hardie said in a statement today.

The agreement reached between the government and James Hardie's negotiators requires the approval of the James Hardie board.

The Netherlands-based building products manufacturer has already agreed to compensate victims in a package of payouts estimated at A$1.7 billion ($1.81 billion), or up to A$4.5 billion over the next 40 years.

But it has taken almost 12 months to finalise the agreement and NSW Premier Morris Iemma gave James Hardie a deadline of last Friday to sign off on the deal or face laws forcing it to compensate victims.

The statement from James Hardie said that negotiations reflected the terms of the in-principle agreement signed on December 21 last year.

According to the terms agreed with the government, the implementation of the agreement is subject to a number of conditions, including approval by James Hardie shareholders and lenders, and the receipt of satisfactory tax rulings or treatment.

"James Hardie is presently undertaking appropriate governance and due diligence processes in anticipation of final consideration of the asbestos compensation funding proposal by the James Hardie Board by Thursday morning of this week," the statement said.

Details of the final agreement reached with government should be released shortly thereafter.

- AAP