Cladding insurance exemptions provide relief for building practitioners
A new state government order to provide cladding insurance exemptions to Victorian building practitioners will prevent repair work coming to a halt.
VIC News
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Cladding insurance exemptions will be rolled out across Victoria’s construction industry to stop work grinding to a halt.
Engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, and draftspeople will be able to maintain personal indemnity insurance exempt from the cost of replacing dodgy cladding.
The state government order comes after insurers have refused to offer policies to cover the cost of replacing the combustible material, impacting thousands of building practitioners and potentially derailing projects.
The same changes were applied for surveyors and inspectors in August last year, but Planning Minister Richard Wynne has expanded the scheme after a departmental review of the wider impacts.
“We’re bringing all building practitioners in line with building surveyors and inspectors to ensure their registration isn’t affected and they can continue to work,” Mr Wynne said.
“This is a short-term fix, but professional indemnity insurance is a national problem and that’s why we need a national solution.”
Previously in Victoria tradespeople had to have personal indemnity insurance, without exemptions to operate.
Opposition spokesman Tim Smith welcomed the move, but questioned why the change was not applied when registrations were due last year.
“This shambolic situation where some practitioners were given professional indemnity exemptions and others hadn’t, it shows how poorly Labor has been managing Victoria’s building industry,” he said.
Engineers Australia chief executive Dr Bronwyn Evans supported action on the issue, but called for a “common sense approach” especially from insurers.
“It is essential that the community, the engineering profession and others who design, build and certify buildings are all protected through relevant comprehensive insurance for all elements of buildings,” she said.
“It is disappointing that insurance companies are excluding one element of a building, that being cladding.”
While the latest move allows building practitioners to continue operating, experts have warned it could leave some people personally liable for the costs.
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The state government has committed $600 million to removing dangerous flammable cladding from high risk buildings across the state.
However, with the issue impacting every state Mr Wynne said the federal government needed to institute a national approach with clear rules and protections.
Exemptions will take effect on February 15.