Check cladding or face fine building watchdog warns

The QBCC estimates 1900 buildings are yet to be checked for combustible cladding with owners given until May 3 to assess the risk or be slapped with $22,019 fine.

Almost 2000 Queensland buildings could be at risk of combustion with the state’s construction watchdog giving property owners just days to check for dangerous cladding or risk large fines.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission is urging property owners to eliminate risk of catastrophic building fires caused by combustible cladding.

The State Government’s Safer Buildings Program, set-up amid mounting community concerns over the risks posed to occupants, has cleared 17,375 buildings of potentially combustible cladding since 2018.

However, the QBCC estimates 1900 buildings are yet to be checked, with owners given until May 3 to assess the risk or be slapped with $22,019 fine.

QBCC Commissioner Brett Bassett said building owners had been given more than two years to assess their property.

“Everyone has a right to feel safe in the buildings they live or work in and it’s good to

see that 90 per cent of those buildings have completed the process to give those

assurances,” he said.

Brett Bassett, the head of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.

“Above any penalty set out in the regulation is the moral and common law onus on a

building owner to ensure the building is safe for its occupants.”

Mr Bassett said the regulations were introduced to avoid a tragedy such as the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in the UK which killed 71 people.

“Only after all the buildings have been through the Safer Buildings Program will we

have a clear picture of how many buildings are a cladding fire risk and what is required to ensure building owners rectify them,” Mr Bassett said.

“While the appropriate regulatory action will be determined on a case-by-case basis,

there are strict penalties under the regulation for those found to have broken the law.

“The State Government established significant resources and guidance for building

owners, including guidance to avoid price gouging by building practitioners, so it is

difficult to see what legitimate reason there would be for not completing the process

after two years.”

Mr Bassett said, in most cases, owners were required to simply submit an assessment of whether or not the building had combustible cladding or not.