Grenfell fire: Qld company fined after failing to comply with cladding laws

A company has been fined after failing to comply with combustible cladding legislation born out of London’s catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

A company has been fined after failing to comply with combustible cladding legislation born out of London’s catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

B.G.N. Holdings Pty Ltd is the latest company to be prosecuted by QBCC in relation to combustible cladding reporting obligations.

The company today pleaded guilty to a single count of failing to provide the QBCC a cladding checklist and a fire risk and fire engineer’s statement by May 4 last year.

The court heard it related to a building containing a warehouse and small factory on Davo Court Burleigh Heads.

Immediately after receiving the complaint and summons, the company carried out the compliance which cost just over $9000, the court heard

Brisbane Magistrates Court heard the legislation was introduced in 2018 and requires all buildings built or modified after 1994 up to 2018 to comply with the combustible cladding legislation.

““This all rose from the Grenville Tower fire in London, and the tragic consequences from that,” said barrister John Miles, prosecuting on behalf of the QBCC.

The legislation involves a three-stage process with building owners able to drop out of the process depending on what’s identified in the first two stages.

Mr Miles said B.G.N Holdings had been required to go to stage three because combustible cladding had been identified by a building industry professional.

Stage three requires the building owner to provide the cladding checklist and the fire risk statement and fire engineer’s statement.

The law’s aim is to identify which buildings in Queensland contain combustible cladding on their outside walls and what the risk is, Mr Miles said.

The next phase of legislation, yet to be introduced, will involve remediation of the cladding.

The fire safety assessment that B.G.N Holdings ultimately had carried out on its building found there was no significant risk from its combustible cladding and it doesn’t require removal because it doesn’t defeat the fire safety systems in place for that building.

“The defendant has fully co-operated with the commission; it’s accepted the defendant is remorseful,” Mr Miles said.

The company’s lawyer Ronald Frigo said the firm’s two directors were in their 80s and one had a serious illness at the time.

The court heard the company had complied from the first two stages of the legislation and failure to complete the third by the required date was an “oversight”.

The company had no prior noncompliance history and was otherwise a good corporate citizen, the court heard.

Magistrate Stephen Courtney fined the company $5000 and did not record a conviction.

Other companies prosecuted have included an aged care provider, a cinema and a motel in Toowoomba, resulting in $30,000 in total fines.

QBCC commissioner Anissa Levy said the Safer Buildings Program had helped create more certainty and safety in regard to construction materials used on Queensland buildings.

“These laws help protect us all in the buildings where we live, work and gather, and were introduced following the tragic death of 72 people in London’s Grenfell Tower,” Ms Levy says.

The QBCC is currently prosecuting a number of other private building owners in Queensland who have allegedly failed to submit the required documentation.