New Legislation & The Cladding Rectification Program
While many international fires attributed to combustible cladding have made front-page news in recent years, it seems that regulation in many of these countries has not yet caught up. However, in Victoria, government officials are moving ahead with plans to remove and replace materials considered unsafe for residential, government and public buildings.
Under section 192B of the Building Act 1993: The Minister for Planning may declare that an external wall cladding product is prohibited from being used by any person in the course of carrying out any building work in connection with the construction of a building.
As stated by the Victorian Government, the Minister for Planning has declared his intent to prohibit the following external wall cladding products from being used by any person in the course of carrying out any building work in connection with the construction of a building:
- expanded polystyrene (EPS) in external wall cladding systems on buildings of Type A or Type B construction in Victoria; and
- aluminium composite panels (ACP) with a core or lamina comprised of less than 93 per cent inert mineral filler (inert content) by mass in external wall cladding systems on buildings of Type A or Type B construction in Victoria.
The Minister for Planning has assessed that both occupants of the building and the buildings themselves could be put at risk in the event of a fire in a facility using these types of cladding. Posing severe risks for the health of residents and damage to the building has led to the Minister recommending a prohibition on the future use of these products.
Victoria is working towards a safer future by announcing its Cladding Rectification Program. Being overseen by Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV), this program brings a $600 million package to help correct cladding issues on private residential buildings as well as a $150 million package to address high-risk government and public buildings.
Prompted by the recent Cladding Safety Victoria Bill 2020, CSV has been given the go-ahead to perform all tasks necessary to begin the Cladding Rectification Program and will be able to provide financial assistance to qualifying building owners who need to reclad their buildings.
While the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) has been completing a state-wide audit to classify buildings in need of cladding replacement, the CSV will now be able to provide support for those buildings that are identified. According to the Victorian Government, since 2017, over 2200 buildings have been assessed through the audit.
CSV provides guidance for qualified practitioners and funding projects to replace the cladding on hundreds of buildings that currently have high-risk combustible cladding on their facades. This enables the body to ensure that buildings in Victoria are safe to inhabit for years to come.
Progress has also been made in the coordination of a register to pre-qualify construction companies for the work of recladding private residences and/or government and public buildings. This creates an easy proposal process for building owners who need to find service providers that are qualified to undertake projects of this nature.
To speak with an expert about cladding removal and replacement, get in touch with us today.