Page 2342 - Week 08 - Thursday, 5 August 2021
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assessment and rectification of potentially combustible cladding on privately owned buildings in the ACT. The government is committed to reducing the risk of potentially combustible cladding on residential apartment buildings in the ACT. The issue of potentially combustible cladding extends beyond the ACT into other states and across the world.
I wish first to provide the Assembly with some background as to how this issue has evolved. As a result of fires involving combustible cladding in Melbourne and, most notably, London, the National Construction Code was amended between the 2016 edition and the 2019 edition to provide absolute clarity that in type A or B construction—apartments over three storeys are type A—the external walls and common walls including the facade covering, the framing and the insulation must be non-combustible.
Previously, the NCC did not specifically mention these elements of the facade with regard to non-combustibility, which led to the general interpretation across Australia that the requirements for non-combustibility did not apply to the facade cladding. This change came into effect in the ACT in March 2018.
Buildings in the ACT are certified through a private certification scheme to comply with the National Construction Code at the time they are constructed. Newer editions of the NCC do not mandate retrospective modifications to buildings certified under earlier editions of the code.
The decision to rectify potentially combustible cladding on existing buildings is being driven by emerging information about safety concerns. The rectification work that may be required varies from building to building based on a range of risk factors, such as the height of the building and the location of any combustible cladding. It is for this reason that the government is assisting apartment owners with testing and assessing their buildings.
Each jurisdiction is tackling this issue in a way which is relevant to its own unique circumstances. The ACT has learnt from the approaches of other jurisdictions in developing a scheme to support the replacement of potentially combustible cladding in higher risk privately-owned residential buildings.
We recognise that this may be a relatively new issue for many apartment owners to deal with. I have listened to stakeholder advice provided by peak body organisations, including the Owners Corporation Network, Strata Communities Australia, the Master Builders Association, the Housing Industry Association, the Insurance Council of Australia, the Real Estate Institute of the ACT, the ACT Law Society and Legal Aid ACT. I thank those groups for their ongoing engagement with this issue.
The government’s private buildings cladding scheme has been designed specifically for our circumstances here in the ACT. I recognise that owners corporations of apartment buildings face challenges in dealing with the issue of potentially combustible cladding. It requires cooperation and decisions to be made by affected owners. It can be a challenge to understand the technical aspects of building cladding materials and the risk they may pose to a building. It can be a challenge to source
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