A 20-month program to remove dangerous flammable cladding from 23 government buildings has been completed, with the full list of affected sites revealed for the first time.
The completion of the work comes more than five years after the government first ordered an audit of its buildings to identify flammable cladding.
Sustainable Building and Construction Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said more than 4000 square metres of the material - which has been linked to deadly fires overseas - was removed from education sites alone.
"Not only has this project reduced the risk posed by combustible cladding, but its recycling program means the materials removed from ACT Government owned buildings can be repurpose," Ms Vassarotti said in a statement.
The government said the benefits of recycling the panels was the equivalent of removing 43 internal combustion engine cars from the road, a saving of 182 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Sites where the cladding was removed included Gungahlin College, the ACT Magistrates Court, the Griffin Centre, the Belconnen Community Health Centre and buildings at the Canberra Hospital, and government schools.
An audit identified the 23 government-owned sites where the cladding needed removal, the government revealed in February 2021. The audit found about 70 buildings which might have been wrapped in the material.
The government refused to identify the sites until rectification works had been completed, citing security concerns and a fear of arson. It put aside $19 million to complete the cladding removal project.
The buildings remained safe to occupy before the works were completed, the government had said.
The government committed to inspecting territory-owned buildings in the wake of the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017, where retrofitted flammable cladding accelerated a fire in the high-rise block council of council flats. Seventy-two people died in the blaze.
Meanwhile, owners' corporations of residential buildings found to have flammable cladding in a testing and assessment scheme run by the government are able to apply for concessional loans to cover the costs of removing and replacing the panels.
The loans can be up to $15 million for eligible owners' corporations, with applications open until February 29, 2024.
Where in Canberra?
The ACT sites where flammable cladding was removed over the life of the government's clean-up scheme were:
- ACT Magistrates Court
- Arawang Primary School
- Belconnen Community Health Centre
- Building 4 at Canberra Hospital
- Building 12 at Canberra Hospital
- Canberra High School
- Civic Youth Centre
- Erindale College
- Four Housing ACT sites
- Griffin Centre
- Gungahlin College
- Gungahlin Oval grandstand
- Howard Florey House
- Lyneham Primary School
- Melrose High School
- Namadgi School
- National Convention Centre
- Palmerston Primary
- Tuggeranong Child And Family Centre
- Yarralumla Primary School
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
