Published: 19 April 2021
Released by: Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation
NSW Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson has today announced a major milestone for Project Remediate with the release of an independent report outlining four safe and non-flammable product categories that represent the first tranche to replace high-risk cladding.
Mr Anderson said the four categories had been recommended by the experts of the Cladding Product Safety Panel as part of Project Remediate, the NSW Government鈥檚 billion-dollar program to fast track the removal combustible cladding on 214 high-risk residential buildings.听
鈥淭hanks to our panel of experts we鈥檝e now identified four, safe, options that can be specified for use as part of the Government鈥檚 replacement program,鈥 Mr Anderson said.
鈥淲e are taking the lowest possible risk approach to fire safety. That鈥檚 why every component we are recommending in the first tranche will have to meet the highest fire safety standard under the Building Code of Australia. The system includes fixings, brackets, and insulation, and will also need to be completely non-combustible.鈥
Mr Anderson said the project would also appoint a single fa莽ade engineer who will provide guidance and quality assurance of the cladding system design on every building remediated by the Government.
鈥淗omeowners need to be confident their building will be rectified with systems that are safe. That鈥檚 why we will also be requiring products and systems in each of the recommended categories to have demonstrated independent fire testing before they can be specified in designs under this program,鈥 Mr Anderson said.
Chair of the Cladding Product Safety Panel Professor, Mark Hoffman said the panel would be giving further consideration to additional products and systems but only after more rigorous independent testing is completed and demonstrated.
鈥淭here may be additional systems that can safely include elements with some combustibility. The panel will consider submissions relating to these but to date, we have not been provided with robust data from independent accredited labs which tests both the product and the system,鈥 Mr Hoffman said.听
Four system categories are considered acceptable replacement options for Project
Remediate, subject to additional design requirements. These categories are:听
Solid aluminium panels installed with cavity barriers and fire-proof听mechanical fixings
Solid metal sheets installed with cavity barriers and fire-proof mechanical听fixings
Fibre cement panels installed with cavity barriers and fire-proof听mechanical fixings
Non-combustible cement render.
鈥淚t is time to get the job done. We expect to commence assessment and project design
for the first batch of 30 buildings by July this year, with the first cladding removed in ate 2021,鈥 Mr Anderson said.听
Further information
Read the听
Learn more about the听听