The Building and Other Legislation (Cladding) Amendment Regulation commenced some time ago on 1 October 2018, in response to the UK’s tragic Grenfell Tower fire. Now the first deadlines the regulation imposes are about to come around. This article looks at which buildings are affected, what building owners' obligations may be, and what the penalties of non-compliance are. If you are a building owner, make sure you comply with your obligations in order to avoid penalty and help make sure that no more tragic building fires occur.

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Construction in Focus
18 February 2019
New cladding regulation sets the construction industry on fire!
Overview
In response to the tragic Grenfell Tower tragedy in
June 2017, the Building and Other Legislation
(Cladding) Amendment Regulation 2018 commenced
on 1 October 2018.
Experts said that the spread of fire at Grenfell Tower
was exacerbated by the aluminium-polyethylene
cladding on the outside of the building. In response to
these reports the Queensland Building and
Construction Commission (QBCC) began investigating
buildings in Queensland, but ultimately found they were
powerless to do anything about flammable cladding
because at the time it was not strictly a defect.
This new legislation changes that, requiring an online
checklist to be filled out by building owners by 29
March 2019 or they can be fined up $3200. Up to
12,000 buildings in Queensland are anticipated to be
affected, according to the Non-Conforming Building
Products Audit Taskforce. The Taskforce also
estimates that 10% of those affected buildings in
Queensland will require detailed assessment in further
steps of the process. Please see the flowchart on the
following page for the steps required to be taken under
the regulation.
Which buildings are applicable?
Any building approved after 1 January 1994 which is:
 at least 50% privately owned;
 a type A or B construction; and
 a class 2 to 9 building
will be applicable under the new legislation. The
classifications of different buildings according to the
Building Codes of Australia are set out here:
http://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/building-codes-australia-bca-
classes-buildings
Some examples of buildings which are not applicable
are houses, one-storey buildings, non-habitable building
structures like garages, and buildings which are not
privately owned.
What if the online checklist finds a risk?
The initial online checklist is intended to identify
buildings with a risk of combustible cladding so that
they can be further examined. If a building is identified
as a risk the owner/s must complete a further checklist
and seek evidence from building fire and safety
experts. There may also be obligations to disclose the
risks to tenants and potential purchasers.
Offences
Each obligation under this amendment makes non-
compliance an offence, with pecuniary penalties of up to
tens of thousands of dollars. Other effects of non-
compliance may be:
 increased liability for responsible persons (eg
company directors) if combustible cladding later
causes damage to people or property;
 difficulty in selling improperly assessed properties;
 increases in insurance premiums, or at worst, lack of
coverage; and/or
 significant workplace health and safety breaches
which can impose strict liability on directors and/or
managers.
How to prepare
Building owners and company directors must ensure
they check to see what their obligations are, lest they be
subject to any of the penalties under the regulation or
other effects of non-compliance, or worse, let another
tragedy like the Grenfell Tower fire occur.
*Disclaimer: The information contained in this update is intended as a
guide only. Professional advice should be sought before applying any of
the information to particular circumstances. While every reasonable care
has been taken in the preparation of this update, MinterEllison does not
accept liability for any errors it may contain.

2. Step 1:
Due 29
March
2019
•By this date owners must:
•Register their building with the QBCC; and
•Complete the online checklist part 1 as part of the building's preliminary assessment.
Step 2:
Due 29
May 2019
•Based on the online checklist, the online system will decide if the building might be an affected private building. If it is, the owner must by
this date either:
•Notify the QBCC that they know or suspect that the building might contain combustible cladding; or if they do not know or suspect that the
building contains combustible cladding,
•Commission a building industry professional (engineers, builders with licenses, architects, etc) to prepare a building industry professional
statement, which must be given to the QBCC with the online checklist part 2.
•The owner must keep a copy of the building industry professional statement and the online checklist part 2 for at least 7 years, and also
keep copies with any fire safety plans for the building under the Building Industry Fire Safety Regulation 2008.
Step 3:
Due 27
August
2019
•If after step 2 it is decided by the online system or a QBCC investigator that the building might be an affected private building, then the
owner must:
•Give the QBCC (using the online system) the name and registration number of the fire engineer engaged by the owner to complete a
building fire safety risk assessment and accompanying fire engineer statement.
Step 4:
Due 3 May
2021
•If step 3 applies, then the owner must:
•Give the completed building fire safety risk assessment and accompanying fire engineer statement to the QBCC, along with the completed
online checklist part 3.
•The owner must keep the online checklist part 3 and fire engineer statement for at least 7 years, and keep the building fire safety risk
assessment until any combustible cladding is removed from the building (if applicable), or if the cladding is removed earlier, at least 7 years.
Owner
Obligations
•If the building is found to be an affected private building (meaning it has combustible cladding), then the owner must:
•Display an affected private building notice within 60 business days of the fire safety risk assessment being given to the owner until the
combustible cladding is removed from the building or a private certifier gives notice that the cladding complies with the BCA; and
•Give a copy of the building fire safety risk assessment to lot owners and tenants within 60 business days of receiving it.