ACT residential buildings remain at risk of flammable cladding

Unit owners and residents deserve the right to feel safe in their own homes. However, some have been dealt an impossible hand that is largely out of their control. For years, many affected residents have been afforded the impossible choice between knowingly living in an unsafe environment, or paying prohibitively high costs to rectify the issue.

While the government has recently instituted its response, dubbed the Private Buildings Cladding Scheme, I am not alone in believing that it falls short of what affected owners and occupiers should be offered. Phase 1 of the scheme is underway, involving testing and assessment of buildings (with a 50 per cent rebate toward those costs being provided by the government, capped at $20,000). Yet the government has not formally announced the details of the loan funding which is expected to be rolled out in phase 2.

This can't afford to be pushed aside. The gravity of the issue is well known and understood, and yet the government has still been slow to react. Affected strata communities and buildings are faced with plummeting accessibility and affordability of insurance. Some insurers have responded to the presence of flammable cladding with excessive premium increases, or an unwillingness to provide cover at all.

This is why, since 2019, organisations like the Strata Community Association (SCA) have been pushing for enhanced government support, advocating for substantial financial relief as well as logistical assistance throughout the entire rectification process.

While it's not always helpful to covet your neighbour's house, as circumstances may be different, the cladding rectification schemes that have been set up in Victoria and NSW are far more comprehensive, and far more consumer-focused than the current blueprint in the ACT. It is understood there are similar rates of dangerous cladding to the ACT in each of these states, and the success of their well-established schemes can and should be used as proof of concept for a comparable rollout.

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The exact percentage of ACT residents that are affected by this major risk is still largely unknown. NSW and Victoria both engaged government bodies to conduct a comprehensive assessment of about 4000 buildings in each state to identify at-risk buildings. In the ACT, however, the onus is on the public to voluntarily apply for a fire risk assessment. One would expect this certainly decreases the rate of risk identification.

The ACT government needs a clear direction on the path forward for this issue. The government should be reaching out to key stakeholders and industry bodies like the SCA to assist in understanding the necessary components and requirements for the scheme to be successful.

We implore all impacted parties (including strata unit owners and residents) to utilise resources provided by the SCA and others to understand the risks associated with flammable cladding, and the options that may be available to you.

The next step for the ACT government is to set true budget expectations for phase 2 of the scheme, including the totality of the associated costs, such as project managers, materials, transactional and contracting costs, labour etc. From there, owners' corporations can properly and reasonably action works that are required, so the number of people living in fear of a catastrophe can be mitigated.