Non-compliant cladding materials audit underway in Victoria

Non-compliant cladding materials audit underway in VictoriaThe Victorian Building Authority (VBA) is currently auditing buildings in Victoria in an effort to identify non-compliant uses of cladding following a fire in a Docklands apartment building.Building practitioners will be aware that on 27 April 2015, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) released an investigation report into the fire in November last year at the Lacrosse apartment building in Docklands. While the investigation found that the cause of the fire was due to an unextinguished cigarette on a balcony, the MFB also found that the external cladding used in the construction of the Lacrosse building had not been tested to comply with Australian Standards and contributed to the spread of the fire. The MFB had a sample of the panel from the Lacrosse building tested for non-combustibility at the CSIRO and it failed the test as required by the Australian Standards. The VBA has written to all building surveyors, including municipal building surveyors, and commercial builders, domestic builders, architects and building designers asking to clarify the extent of the use of non-compliant cladding products. A Class 2, 3 or 9 building of three or more storeys and a Class 5, 6, 7 or 8 building of four or more storeys are required by Volume One of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) to be of Type A construction and have external cladding that is non-combustible as specified in the BCA. The non-compliant cladding used in the Lacrosse building is an aluminium composite panel known as Alucobest. It has been reported in the media that this product has been used as cladding on other buildings in Victoria over a number of years. If this or other non-compliant products have been used as cladding on buildings required to be of Type A construction then, in the event of a fire, it may present additional risk to the occupants of the building. The VBA is working closely with industry groups and the Government to understand the scope of this issue and determine what actions will be appropriate once it is known. An audit is currently underway, and is expected to cover approximately 170 buildings in Victoria.