Building and Construction Alert - Combustible Cladding Laws Commence 1 October 2018
By Renee Tomas Lovelady
The Building Act 1975 will be amended by the Building and Other Legislation (Cladding) Amendment Regulation 2018 in response to fires linked to combustible cladding materials and these amendments will come into effect on 1 October, 2018.
The amendments provide that owners of buildings:
- That are a class 2 – 9 (for those of you who are not familiar, class 1 is a residential dwelling – to see the list of classifications click here) and that are of a type A or B construction;
- For which a building development approval was given, after 1 January 1994 but before 1 October 2018 for building work to build the building or to alter the cladding on the building must register their buildings and complete the combustible cladding checklist.
The first critical part of the process is for owners to register their building using the online system and complete the combustible cladding checklist (part 1) by 29 March 2019: https://www.saferbuildings.qld.gov.au/
If there is no combustible cladding then there is nothing further to be done. However, if there is, the next steps that need to be followed are:
- By 29 May 2019 – the owner must complete the building industry professional statement and complete the combustible cladding checklist (part 2)
- By 27 August 2019 – the owner must engage a fire engineer and register their details on the combustible cladding checklist (part 3)
- By 3 May 2021 – the owner must complete the building fire safety risk assessment, fire engineer statement and the combustible cladding checklist.
If you own a class 2-9 premises that was built after 1994 be aware of your obligations to register your building using the online system.