Progress on the Combustible Cladding Ban

The Queensland Government has announced that it will move to ban the use of all aluminium composite panels with a PE core of greater than 30 per cent on new buildings.

To implement the change, the Government will introduce a new regulation that will also include provisions that will allow certifiers to remain licensed, while they are holding professional indemnity insurance featuring cladding related exclusions.

Whilst we are yet to see the proposed regulation, the ban and accompanying certifier provisions are similar to those introduced in NSW and Victoria.  In our view, the professional indemnity inclusion is a stop gap and a permanent national solution needs to be implemented.

At a national level, the Property Council has called on the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to immediately convene an industry roundtable aimed at resolving the certifier insurance issue.

Furthermore, the Property Council is calling on the Commonwealth to take a leadership role to:

1.            Implement a nationally consistent standard for risk assessment and rectification work for existing buildings with combustible cladding;

2.            Establish a joint task force of industry and governments to design a program that will fund rectification works for building owners left exposed with no recourse;

3.            Recommit to a nationally consistent approach and urgent implementation of the Shergold Weir report recommendations.