Cladding audit warns thousands of private buildings could remain death traps

MORE than 12,000 Queensland buildings could be at risk from flammable cladding but some may never be identified, according to a new report to be released today.

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MORE than 12,000 Queensland buildings could be at risk from flammable cladding, but some may never be identified, according to a report to be ­released today.

Fears about aluminium composite panel cladding were raised in June last year after it was blamed for a fire in London’s Grenfell Tower, which killed 71 people, including two Australians.

Weeks later, it emerged the material had likely been used in Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital and the State Government launched an urgent audit taskforce to determine how many Queensland buildings were at risk.

The taskforce’s first status report says almost 28,000 State Government buildings have been assessed and cleared, but 71 remain under a cloud.

“There are no government buildings that pose an imminent risk to safety,” the report says. The audit has not yet assessed private buildings, but the taskforce has raised concerns about 12,000 buildings built since 1994.

“There may be as many as 12,000 buildings across the state built since the introduction of ACP into Queensland that will need assessment by the building owner, private certifier or other building professional,” the report says.

Based on the audit of government buildings, the report estimates about 10 per cent of those private buildings will need “more detailed investigation to establish whether they can be cleared or remediation is required”.

The report says the task of identifying the dangerous cladding could be impossible in some buildings due to a lack of centralised record-keeping and inconsistent ­approval documentation. Cladding at the PA Hospital was removed late last year after tests showed it was more flammable than initially thought.

It has not been replaced as Queensland Health investigates a replacement.

Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni said the Government supported the taskforce’s recommendations and had “commenced early and immediate work to implement these”.