Page 2696 - Week 09 - Thursday, 16 September 2021

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(6) What, if any, are the financial and/or legal safeguards the ACT Government plans to provide private owners to voluntarily self-report the presence of combustible cladding on their building in phase one of the scheme.

(7) Based on what advice/investigation has the Minister estimated, through the media, the number of privately owned apartment buildings affected by the presence of combustible cladding at 90.

(8) Has the ACT Government received advice as to what the approximate cost of conducting an assessment will be and will the $20,000 cap be sufficient to cover owners’ corporation expenses to conduct an assessment.

(9) What supports will the Government provide to those owners’ corporations that have already had inspections and assessments carried out at their own expense prior to the announcement of the grant program and will there be retrospective reimbursements.

(10) Has the ACT Government sought advice from the Canberra Economic Recovery Advisory Group in relation to establishment of the Private Buildings Cladding Scheme; if so, can the Minister provide a copy of that advice; if not, why not.

(11) Given that once a building is identified with the presence of cladding, it can make it very difficult to gain home-building insurance, what will the Government do to fill this gap should owners, who have had assessments carried out, be unable to take out insurance.

(12) Has the ACT Government conducted consultation with private home-insurance providers in relation to its Private Buildings Cladding Scheme; if so, can the Minister provide a list of the insurance providers the Government has engaged with; if not, why not.

Ms Vassarotti: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

(1) The Government has not undertaken general testing or assessment of privately owned buildings to confirm the presence of combustible cladding. The recently announced Private Buildings Cladding Scheme is designed to assist owners corporations identify the presence of potentially combustible cladding on their buildings. Desktop analysis suggests there may be around 90 buildings in the ACT which may be eligible for the Scheme.

(2) The Government reviewed advice from other jurisdictions in designing the ACT scheme. However, as each jurisdiction has different program and regulatory settings, it is not possible to directly apply a number from elsewhere in forecasting likely ACT take-up. Therefore, the budget projections are conservatively based on full uptake of the maximum 50% rebate available for 90 buildings.

(3) The Government engaged with a range of stakeholders in relation to the establishment of the Scheme, as listed below:

(a) ACT Law Society;

(b) A number of fire engineering firms in the ACT;

(d) Insurance Council of Australia;

(e) Legal Aid ACT;

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