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Further to our ongoing e-alerts concerning the three-stage compliance obligations for combustible cladding in Queensland, in a Ministerial Construction Council meeting earlier this month it was announced that combustible cladding is to be banned on all new Queensland buildings going forward.
The wording of the proposed regulations has yet to be revealed, however the ban will extend to “all aluminium composite panels with a PE core of greater than 30 per cent, and it would restrict usage across all buildings in Queensland.”[1]
While this announcement provides certainty as to the management of combustible cladding in future building developments, concern still lingers as to the obligation to rectify combustible cladding deficiencies in existing buildings, and who is to bear the costs of any such rectification works.
Were rectification obligations to be rolled out in future, it should be noted that the ‘cost of rectification’ would not simply be limited to the removal and replacement of the cladding. Such rectification would likely involve a multitude of incidental and expensive outlays, such as the cost of obtaining new development and/or building approvals relating to the design and architectural features of the building that need to be changed.
In the interim, the announcement serves as a timely reminder that building owners have until the extended deadline of 31 July 2019 to meet the Stage 2 compliance obligations under the Building Regulations 2006 (Qld).
[1] Mick de Brenni (Minister for Housing and Public Works, Queensland), Queensland Government to Ban Combustible Cladding, Media Statement, 3 July 2019.
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