Taskforce tackles cladding problem

The Victorian government has announced a new body – Cladding Safety Victoria – tasked with issuing grants to fund rectification works on hundreds of buildings encased in high-risk flammable cladding.

Cladding is the material used on the outside ‘skin’ of a building. There are two types of combustible cladding that have been deemed to pose a risk to building owners following the Lacrosse and Neo200 building fires in Melbourne:

aluminium composite panels (ACP) and expanded polystyrene.

On July16, the Victorian Cladding Taskforce issued its final report, which recommended the rectification of buildings with highrisk cladding and the creation of a dedicated cladding agency.

The Victorian Government will directly fund half of the works to the tune of $300 million and will introduce changes to the building permit levy to raise a further $300 million over the next five years.

The Victorian Building Authority inspected 2227 privately-owned buildings during a statewide cladding audit and found 1,069 had combustible cladding. Of those, seven per cent were deemed extreme risk, 38 per cent highest risk, 36 per cent moderate risk and 19 per cent low risk.

The taskforce identified 11 privately owned buildings in the City of Greater Geelong with combustible cladding, eight in Surf Coast Shire, three in Ballarat and Moorabool, two in Bass Coast and one each in Greater Bendigo, Colac Otway, Corangamite, Warrnambool, Pyrenees, Campaspe, Macedon Ranges and Wodonga.

The audit also reported a trend in the inappropriate use of expanded polystyrene on lower-rise buildings of up to 10 storeys in major population centres in suburban Melbourne and regional cities.

Cladding Safety Victoria will determine rectification priority based on risk. The taskforce has prioritised 15 buildings to have their cladding issues addressed first. The government said Cladding Safety Victoria will contact owners corporations and property owners shortly, starting with those whose buildings are at the greatest risk.

The Cladding Safety Victoria grants will provide funding for project management support, professional design services, building surveying, permits and approval and building materials and rectification works.

The overnment has also committed to reviewing the state’s Building Act.

For further information, head to vic.gov.au/cladding-safety.