Combustible Cladding Regulation

The NSW Government is reminding building owners about the deadline to register certain residential and public buildings if it has external combustible cladding through its NSW Government Portal.

Registration and identification of these buildings helps Fire and Rescue NSW to respond accordingly in the case of a fire and educate occupants about additional fire prevention steps that can be taken. It also helps councils to decide whether any assessment rectification actions are necessary.

For buildings occupied before 22 October 2018, the deadline for registration is 22 February 2019. Owners of new buildings will be required to register their building within four months of the building first being occupied.

Building types

The Regulation applies to the following building types (both new and existing buildings) of two or more storeys:

• Residential apartment buildings
• Other types of residential buildings where people sleep. For example, hotels, boarding houses, backpackers, student accommodation
• Aged-care buildings; hospitals and day surgeries (and any associated single dwellings within the building)
• Public assembly buildings. For example, theatres, cinemas, schools and churches (and any associated single dwellings within the building).

Cladding types

The Regulation applies if any of the above buildings have external combustible cladding made of the following materials:

• metal composite panels, including products that consist of aluminium, zinc, or copper outer layers and a core material; or
• insulated cladding systems including systems comprised of polystyrene, polyurethane, and polyisocyanurate.

There are also new provisions in the Regulation that require referral of certain ‘alternative solutions’ (under the Building Code of Australia) involving external combustible cladding to Fire and Rescue NSW.

For more information on the regulation and portal, visit the Department of Planning & Environment’s website here.