In June 2017, a tragic fire killed more than 70 people in Grenfell Towers, England and highlighted the dangers of combustible external cladding.
The Queensland Government has introduced a new regulation requiring property owners to assess and register their buildings, which take effect on 1 October 2018.
How does the Building and Other Legislation (Cladding) Amendment Regulation 2018 affect me?
As an owner of a relevant building you are required to register your building and comply with the risk assessment and notification obligations. If you own a commercial building that is more than two storeys or a multi-occupancy residential building, health care, aged care or assembly building over one storey approved between 1 January 1994 and 30 September 2018, you must complete Parts 1 and 2 of the State Government's combustible cladding assessment by 29 March 2019. The requirement to complete the risk assessment also applies to older buildings where alterations to the building's cladding took place during that period.
What do I need to do?
Building owners need to:
- Determine if your class of building is covered by the Regulation
- If so, set up a QGov Account – https://account.qld.gov.au/registration/register.html
- Log on to the Queensland Government Safer Buildings website – https://www.saferbuildings.qld.gov.au/, register your building and complete Parts 1 and 2 of the risk assessment checklists
- Engage a builder, architect or engineer if required to assist in completing an assessment
For buildings with combustible cladding, owners will need to obtain a fire engineer statement and display that statement in conspicuous places near the main entrance to the building and adjacent to the fire panel. Body corporates and owners of multiple lot buildings are also required to give notices to each owner and tenant in the building.
Owners in the process of selling a building must notify the new owner of which stage in the process they are up to and the new owner must complete the assessment.
The requirement does not apply to detached houses, single storey buildings or to commercial buildings less than three storeys.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
