CURTAIN WALLS

Reforms to help protect buyers

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Feb-19

State and territory building ministers agreed to a ban on the use of unsafe aluminium composite panels in new apartment buildings at a Council of Australian Governments meeting on 8 February. However, the meeting did not define "unsafe". The meeting also agreed that builders have an ongoing duty of care to apartment owners to provide a building that meets required building code standards, and that builders will face extra liability if their buildings do not comply with such standards.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, OWNERS CORPORATION NETWORK OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

NSW bans high-content PE cladding over fire risk

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 14-Aug-18

The New South Wales Government has cracked down on the use of combustible cladding materials in the construction industry. The use of aluminium panels with a core of more than 30 per cent polyethylene will be banned outright, with the regulation to apply to both new and existing buildings. Building certifier David Blackett has expressed reservations about the government’s decision to give local councils responsibility for the risk assessment process.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF COMMERCE. OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Melbourne cladding still in place after fire

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 16-Jun-17

The tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London and the possible links to its external cladding has led to concerns about buildings with similarly dangerous cladding in Australia. Cladding on one such building, the Lacrosse building in Melbourne, was directed to be removed after it was affected by a potentially lethal fire in November 2014, but the cladding remains. Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne says many apartment buildings in Australia could have the same cladding problems as the Lacrosse building.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND REGULATION, LU SIMON BUILDERS PTY LTD, VICTORIA. BUILDING APPEALS BOARD, VICTORIA. BUILDING COMMISSION, MELBOURNE METROPOLITAN FIRE BRIGADE, CSIRO, GREAT BRITAIN. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF HOUSING AND PUBLIC WORKS, ELENBERG FRASER PTY LTD, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, CITY OF PORT PHILLIP, CITY OF MELBOURNE, METROPOLITAN FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES BOARD

Apartment owners burnt by cladding cost

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 27-Oct-15

The City of Melbourne’s Municipal Building Surveyor has ruled that cladding panels on the exterior of a Docklands apartment building must be replaced within 12 months. The imported cladding used on the 23-storey LaCrosse tower does not comply with the Building Code of Australia’s fire-safety standards. The full cost of replacing the cladding must be met by apartment owners and the building’s body corporate.

CORPORATES
CITY OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TRANSPORT, PLANNING AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE