Regulations that are meant to protect residents from building failures and fires have been found wanting. All governments must take responsibility for fixing the defective regime they created.
- Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney
Many universities were built in the 1960s and 1970s and the government isn’t providing funds to maintain them.
Years of regulatory failure are having direct impacts on the hip pockets of the many Australians who bought defective houses or apartments. It’s turning into a multibillion-dollar disaster.
Architects, certifiers and engineers who work as consultants to builders are on notice about potential liability for the use of flammable cladding, but governments are also culpable for their actions.
The risks of combustible cladding on high-rise buildings have long been known. And audits have identified hundreds of Australian buildings with this cladding. Delay in replacing it is inexcusable.
While Opal Tower residents are more badly affected than most, up to 80% of multi-unit buildings have serious defects. Here’s what government can do right now to fix the industry.
It’s tempting to blame building certifiers and the fact they are privately employed. But the cracks in the quality of our apartment buildings go deeper and can be fixed.
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