Victorians will be given more time to take legal action against builders responsible for installing combustible cladding on apartment buildings with new legislation being introduced to the Victorian Parliament today.
The legislation will give owners more opportunity to recover the cost of removing combustible cladding by increasing the time limit for commencing a claim to 15 years.
Proposed amendments to the Building Act, through the Building Amendment (Registration and Other Matters) Bill 2021, will extend the time in which cladding claims can be made to 15 years where the limit for claims would otherwise have been reached between 16 July 2019 and 1 December 2023.
The extra time means owners can prioritise cladding removal without needing to urgently commence recovery proceedings, recognising the complexity of beginning cladding-related legal action, as well as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
This amendment also enables the State to continue pursuing wrongdoers on behalf of Victorians, where the State has paid for rectification works and believes there is a case to be answered.
In July 2019, the Victorian Government announced a $600 million package to fix buildings with combustible cladding and established Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) to oversee the world first program.
CSV works with building owners, owners corporations, local councils and the building sector to rectify buildings and make them safe.
Funding for rectification works is prioritised based on risk, to ensure buildings which present the highest risk to occupants are rectified first.
As stated by Minister for Planning Richard Wynne
"Owners are in this situation through no fault of their own and it's only right they have as much time as possible to pursue compensation through the courts."
"We're continuing to lead the world in responding to this international problem and helping to ensure those who have done the wrong thing contribute to the cost of fixing their mistakes."
