Relevant building owners have three days remaining to complete the first stage of the mandatory Safer Buildings ‘combustible cladding checklist’ to assess their building’s safety.
The online checklist is a requirement of the Building and Other Legislation (Cladding) Amendment Regulation 2018, which came into effect on 1 October 2018. The regulation is applicable to buildings that are:
- privately or local government owned
- class 2 – 9 (which covers most commercial buildings)
- type A or B construction
- built, or had the cladding altered, after 1 January 1994 but before 1 October 2018.
The first stage (Part 1) requires relevant owners to register with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) through an online portal and complete the preliminary cladding checklist by 29 March 2019. There are four simple questions about the building in question in Part 1, and multiple sources of information are available to assist in providing responses. Upon answering the questions, the building owner is required to print, sign and upload a statutory declaration.
Subsequent stages will only apply if it is determined from the online checklist that a risk of combustible cladding exists. If further assessment is required under Part 2, this must be completed by 29 May 2019.
If building owners miss the deadline for completing Part 1 of the checklist, there is a maximum fine of 20 penalty units ($2,611) for non-compliance.
Further information (including the Guideline for building assessment) and relevant forms can also be located on the Queensland Government’s 'Safer Buildings' website here.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.