“Ticking time-bomb” properties a concern for apartment, unit & townhouse owners
Look Up Strata
Stephen Raff
19 April 2016

At the back end of bushfire season, Ace Body Corporate Management is urging South Australians to wake up to an even bigger fire problem, occurring not outside, but inside their properties.

problem with building defects

Australia’s problem with building defects is a huge safety concern for property owners, and we fear that every city around the country has hundreds, if not thousands of “ticking time bomb” properties containing non compliant, highly flammable building materials.

After gathering in Adelaide recently to discuss the future of the sector both locally and overseas, we left with clear advice from Senator Nick Xenophon that the Federal Government recognises this as a priority, given its potential impact on property owners.

flammable aluminium cladding

The two materials currently suspected to be threatening the safety of property owners and tenants in South Australia are a flammable aluminium cladding product and a substandard electric cabling material, subject to a failed Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recall.

Recently The Australian reported that over half the audited buildings so far in Melbourne’s Central Business District possessed this flammable cladding product, while up to 2500 buildings in Sydney were feared to be in the same boat – Fire-risk cladding found on 51% of new Melbourne towers.

the Infinity Cabling product

Additionally, the Infinity Cabling product at the centre of the ACCC recall is still at large in Australian properties, with latest reports indicating that less than 5% of the 4,000 kilometres of cable nationwide has been accounted for – Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Annual Report 2014-15.

Just like with bushfire preparation, we are calling on a coordinated response from property owners and managers, to ensure this doesn’t create a year round fire threat.

Ace is of the opinion that these defective products can create a lot of uncertainty and owners of strata property should seek advice from local managers.

The advice from experts is that this cladding product was a popular substitute for safer, more expensive materials over the past decade so we’re very keen to hear from owners in the South Australia region about their concerns.

There is new information on this issue becoming available on a week by week basis at the present time, and we’re confident that a consultation with local strata management will help communities have a clearer picture on what the next step is for them.

This article about flammable aluminium cladding and other concerns in SA has been supplied and written by Stephen Raff, CEO of Ace Body Corporate Management.

top  contents  chapter  previous  next