Central Coast Council has welcomed the NSW Government’s wide-ranging fire safety package as a positive step towards addressing the concerns of high-rise building residents.

Council Group Leader, Environment and Planning, Mr Scott Cox said senior Council staff had attended the briefing last week with the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation to hear first-hand the progress of the Taskforce on External Cladding and the next steps for local authorities.

“The ten point plan outlined by the Minister is certainly comprehensive, tackling the issue from the aspect of product safety as well as compliance and education for building owners,” said Mr Cox.

“Currently, fire safety requirements are set out in the National Construction Code of Australia which addresses minimum requirements for design, construction and performance of buildings throughout Australia.

“All buildings on the Central Coast are certified in accordance with this Code. Residents can be assured of the strong building standards we have here in Australia.”

Key to the State Government’s fire safety package is the identification of buildings that may have aluminium or other cladding and making contact with the building or strata managers to seek an immediate inspection of the product and its installation.

“The State Government’s building audit revealed over 1000 buildings that may have potentially dangerous cladding,” Mr Cox said.

“Although these buildings, known as Class 2 buildings, are not typically found across the Central Coast, Council will be closely reviewing its data sets to ensure any local buildings that may fall into this category are identified and appropriate action taken to ensure that the owners of the buildings are aware of their obligations.”

The other critical role Council will play in the roll out of the fire safety package is in the area of building certification around the regulation of building certifiers and fire safety inspectors.

“It’s critical to get the rules right when it comes to building certification and fire safety and this includes making sure that we have right people with the necessary skills and experience certifying buildings and signing off on fire safety,” Mr Cox said.

“As the largest Principal Certifying Authority for the Central Coast, Council welcomes any measure to tighten up the regulation of building certifiers and to create an industry based accreditation that will ensure only skilled and experienced people can do fire safety inspections.

“These additional processes will provide our residents with peace of mind that every step has been taken from the selection of appropriate building products, building design and building and fire safety compliance to ensure everyone can feel safe in their own home.”