Fixing the façade

Across the Middle East, combustible cladding remains a live question for regulators, owners and insurers, particularly in dense urban markets dominated by high-rise development. In Australia, Victoria’s Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) programme offers a valuable lesson: that the most effective response is not blanket remediation, but a risk-based, evidence-led model that identifies the buildings most in need targets resources proportionately, and delivers safer outcomes without unnecessary cost or delay. As the region continues to strengthen its building safety frameworks, CSV’s experience shows how science, policy and delivery can combine to turn a complex fire risk into a manageable remediation strategy.

To date, CSV’s programme has helped tens of thousands of owners in more than 1,600 buildings deal with the issue of combustible cladding. It became the first jurisdiction in the world to comprehensively deal with the issue, and here it shares the lessons learned along the way – so that a tragedy like Grenfell doesn’t occur again.

Addressing the problem of combustible cladding in Victoria

In July 2019, after two significant inner city Melbourne cladding fires either side of the Grenfell (London) tragedy in 2017 the Victorian Government acted decisively and established a specialist agency, Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) based on the recommendations of an independent Victorian Cladding Taskforce established in 2017.

The Taskforce concluded that the problem of widespread combustible cladding was attributed to three factors: the supply and marketing of inappropriate building materials; a poor culture of compliance in the industry; and the failure of regulation to deal with these issues. The UK’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry Report in 2024 identified the same causes attributed to the tragic fire that led to the deaths of 72 people.

CSV has been the driver of Victoria’s response to the threat of combustible cladding and is in the final stages of fulfilling its mission.

With a rough estimate of the buildings affected and a set budget, a new organisation and delivery model had to be built from the ground up.

CSV’s first task was to identify the affected buildings, working with Victoria’s state and local building regulators. Using patchy records, limited datasets and on-the-ground checks, it eventually built a comprehensive picture of 1,660 apartment buildings with some cladding risk — far more than early government modelling had suggested.

The next challenge was prioritisation. Early attempts had placed too much weight on non-cladding factors, which understated the impact of a cladding fire. CSV corrected this by working with CSIRO’s Data61 and RMIT to assign each building a cladding risk coefficient and establish a notional ‘batting order’.

The Victorian Government then decided CSV should focus on the highest-risk buildings. Under this ‘high care’ model, CSV funded independent project managers, selected pre-vetted building practitioners and oversaw the works, effectively stepping into the role usually played by the owners’ corporation (the legal entity that manages the common property of a residential apartment complex).

Overcoming difficulties along the way

With many projects underway, recurring issues quickly emerged and demanded resolution. Half of all assessed buildings contained significant latent defects, and the behaviour of numerous cladding products was still not well understood. In many instances, private building practitioners had overstated cladding risks, while local regulators — understandably cautious — were reluctant to allow any potentially unsafe materials to remain in place.

As CSV examined more buildings, it became clear that many earlier risk assessments had been based on incomplete information, limited understanding of how different cladding products perform in fire conditions, or inflated assumptions of risk. These shortcomings had severe financial impacts on owners, who faced rectification costs in the hundreds of thousands — and often millions — of dollars. It also became apparent that the broader sector and regulatory system, at least in relation to combustible cladding, placed the full burden on apartment owners — most of whom were ill-equipped to manage it — while offering few avenues for addressing the problem proportionately, affordably or efficiently. CSV’s intervention has fundamentally shifted this landscape in Victoria.

To answer the unresolved questions, CSV developed a comprehensive research programme. The aim was not only to help the impacted owners but also to better inform regulators. The breadth and depth of data gathered by CSV through this work has formed the basis of several important research papers which have been provided to government and published online.

One of the key projects was to better understand the risk posed by low-combustible products. We conducted our own testing on cladding products and publicised the results.

CSV also continues to work with the insurance industry and other stakeholders to ensure these findings are widely understood. In the early days, achieving consensus on the nature of cladding risk in buildings seemed like a bridge too far. However, through the evidence gathered, those bridges were built, and in Victoria we now have a commonly understood approach to assessing cladding risk in buildings.

Applying a risk threshold to cladding rectification

Armed with a defined set of problem buildings, the lived experience gained from numerous remediation projects, the results of a comprehensive research programme, and access to internationally recognised fire‑safety expertise, we were able to present clear cladding risk thresholds to government for approval.

The Protocols for Mitigating Cladding Risk (PMCR), developed by CSV in partnership with RMIT University, CSIRO, and a range of other experts, have been central to this work. The impact of this new risk‑based approach has been significant – saving many owners from incurring large, unaffordable costs unnecessarily and restoring confidence in the buying and selling of apartments.

Through this work, CSV has become the authority on cladding risk assessment and mitigation in Victoria. Its processes now form official government policy through Minister’s Guideline 15, supporting both municipal and private building surveyors in making informed decisions based on CSV’s advice.

In the interest of international collaboration, this work and all our findings have been shared not only with other jurisdictions in Australia but also with other countries, including the UK, Scottish, Irish and New Zealand governments.

Continuous improvement leads to better outcomes

CSV is on track to complete its task within budget, despite steeply rising construction costs over the life of the programme. These savings are due in large part to the introduction of a Clerk of Works quality and safety scheme across funded sites. An impact analysis shows the programme has delivered substantial safety benefits and a return on investment of around 700 percent, equating to savings of approximately AUS$100 million.

CSV’s adaptive approach to programme delivery reflects the principles of a learning organisation — constantly evolving by integrating insights from experience, data and innovation into core operations.

In its early years, CSV operated in a high‑risk, highly uncertain environment, where strong risk‑mitigation measures were essential to ensuring safety and quality. Early investment efficiency was supported by strategic contract management, including establishing expert panels such as independent project managers, quantity surveyors, architects and the Clerk of Works programme. By strengthening control over project outcomes, this approach minimised risks and associated costs while fostering trusted supplier relationships.

Over time, CSV systematically captured data and insights from each completed project and fed these learnings back into decision‑making. This deliberate cultivation of a learning culture helped reinforce organisational capability, refine methods and support the shift from full cladding removal to more proportionate, evidence‑based solutions.

A culture of continuous improvement, supported by data analysis, cross‑disciplinary collaboration and evidence‑based decision‑making, further strengthened internal capability and reduced reliance on external consultants. Critical to this evolution was the development of in‑house expertise, including due diligence processes for assessing cladding risk and an in‑house cost‑planning function. The progression from early caution and uncertainty to leadership in innovation reflects CSV’s commitment to learning and adaptability — delivering safe, efficient and cost‑effective outcomes without compromising quality.

Based on six years of evidence, CSV’s approach has saved both building owners and the government hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as considerable time and inconvenience. Had CSV accepted the prevailing professional and regulatory assumptions about cladding products and associated risks, many more buildings would have undergone far more extensive — and often unnecessary — rectification over a much longer period, causing significantly greater distress for owners and occupants.

Key lessons to take away

Victoria’s cladding programme is now nearing completion. Once finalised, CSV’s work will have improved safety for users of 131 public buildings and more than 155,000 residents across more than 80,000 privately owned apartments.

The programme has provided a unique opportunity for government and industry to explore how a genuinely risk‑proportionate model can guide any intervention involving the development, design, construction, management or maintenance of buildings. By understanding each building’s unique risk profile and applying rectification strategies aligned to that risk, remediation can be delivered far more efficiently and cost‑effectively.

Another key lesson is that where state intervention is required to address building or construction‑related risks, decisions should be grounded in an objective methodology — such as the PMCR model — ensuring obligations are prioritised according to risk and tailored to the specific circumstances.

Victoria’s cladding rectification program will be completed in 2026, marking a significant achievement in public safety, regulatory reform and evidence‑based program delivery.