What is project remediate?
‘Project Remediate’ is a three-year program launched this year by Construct NSW to help fix (remediate) potentially combustible cladding on eligible high-risk residential apartment buildings.
What buildings are eligible?
Class 2 buildings (multi-unit residential) or buildings with a Class 2 component that has been identified by the NSW Cladding Taskforce in NSW.
What is combustible cladding?
Cladding is a material that can be installed as a covering on external walls of a building, as a trim around windows, doors or balconies or on other areas such as awnings. Combustible cladding is a material that will burn and spread flame in the event of a fire. Apartment buildings are designed with compartmentation and minimise the spread of fire between individual units and between stories of the building. If fire is able to spread via the external walls, this undermines the compartmentation and poses a serious risk of overwhelming the building’s fire safety system. It also impacts the ability of firefighters to control the spread of fire.
How will remediation work be paid for?
Project Remediate is voluntary and under the sponsorship of the NSW Building Commissioner and includes two linked components.
- 10-year interest-free loans made to building owners corporations to support affected owners fund the cost of remediation work.
- Quality assurance and project management services are designed to make sure owners receive industry-leading quality, value, safety and good customer service.
What are the benefits of the program?
- A managing contractor is appointed and paid for by the Government to coordinate all the necessary design, remediation and certification work.
- A remediation solution using products and systems endorsed by the Cladding Product Safety Panel and in line with design quality guidance from the program’s global façade consultant.
- Pre-qualified contractors and service providers from panels established under the program offer expertise and value for money.
- Value and efficiency is achieved through program-wide sourcing of designs and expertise, and specific services such as waste disposal and recycling.
- A thorough investigation and assessment of the building are carried out, prior to commencement, to identify all issues upfront and enable fixed-price remediation work. Owners corporations can have certainty about the cost of the remediation.
- Insurers should be satisfied to insure the remediated building without cladding-related exclusions or premium increases.
- An interest-free loan is available for the cost of remediation works.
Note: All information has been taken from the Fair Trading resource “Project Remediate: Understanding the Program”.
Visit our blog for more information on Project Remediate here.