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14 Aug 2017

Potential cladding hazards - 1;000 NSW buildings

Potential cladding hazards - 1;000 NSW buildings
Government audit points to substandard cladding in more than 1;000 buildings in New South Wales. Shortly following the London Grenfell Tower fire; the NSW Government conducted an audit and inspected over 178;000 building projects in the region; among which 1;011 showed signs of dangerous cladding. In response to the findings; Fair Trading minister Matt Kean urged building owners to carry out stricter inspections to ensure cladding safety; "I don't want to frighten people out there; but what we're asking people to do is give themselves peace of mind by undertaking a fire safety inspection of those buildings;" he stated. "We're also asking councils to check their data sets to ensure that we don't miss any properties." In addition; the government is also forming new legislation to sanction the use and trading of hazardous building materials. While owners are responsible for the cost of removing dangerous cladding; they may be eligible for reimbursement; Mr Kean adds. "There are a number of remedies available; that currently exist in law; that enable people to claim for defects. "We're not proposing any changes to the defects rules at the moment. "But what we do know is that we want to ensure that people are safe in their homes and we'll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens."
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