Dozen of schools are set to reopen while others will temporarily close as authorities in Australia and New Zealand continue to grapple with an asbestos scare.

More than 70 ACT schools were closed on Monday for decontamination after testing detected traces of asbestos in play sand products.

At least five NZ schools were shut down after using the affected sand products with more than 100 contacting the government seeking advice.

The ACT government said more than 50 schools would be open on Tuesday with another 16 "partially open". About 25 will remain closed.

Nine Tasmanian Catholic schools where the sand has been used will close or partially close from Tuesday to allow for testing and cleaning.

"While expert advice indicates the risk to our students and staff is very low, we are taking

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