The statewide audit of more than 1,100 buildings commenced in July 2017, following the Grenfell Tower blaze in London in June 2017 which claimed 72 lives.
The 2014 cladding fire at the Lacrosse Building in Melbourne was started by a single cigarette on the balcony, and resulted in owners being paid $5.7 million in damages, 97% of which is being paid by the builders consultants, the architect, surveyor and fire engineer.
The devastation of these events are further compounded by the fact that they could have been prevented
The Phase 2 interim findings report released by the Government revealed that seven private buildings have been identified as being at “extreme risk,” and 21 buildings at “high risk.” Local councils are in communication with building owners, to oversee remedial work to reduce risk to an acceptable level. Only two publicly owned buildings were assessed as high risk.
No buildings were found to be at a level which warranted evacuation. Current Government has so far declined to release the list of buildings identified with ACP, and their associated risk levels. Rectification work as needed will now be rolled out in Phase 3 of the audit.