Sixteen private buildings are being assessed for potentially deadly flammable cladding in the ACT under the first stage of a government scheme to help cover the cost of the tests.
Four more ACT government buildings have also been stripped of the dangerous cladding, while works continue to remediate nine more publicly owned structures.
The government is also in the process of determining the structure of concessional loans to help the owners' corporations of affected private buildings pay for removing flammable cladding.
Sustainable Building and Construction Minister Rebecca Vassarotti on Thursday announced work to remove the combustible cladding from Canberra High School, Howard Florey House, Civic Youth Centre and the ACT Magistrates Court was finished.
Nine more government-owned buildings are due to have the cladding removed, and the government expects the work to be completed by the end of the year.
The government has not released a complete list of affected buildings it owns, having previously cited safety concerns and the possible threat of arson.
Fire can spread quickly up a building if inappropriate aluminium composite cladding panels, which can have highly combustible cores, are used.
The ACT government in August 2020 had committed to a taxpayer-funded loan scheme to help apartment owners determine whether their buildings used flammable cladding.
The government in October revealed for the first time where flammable cladding had been removed from government buildings, which include five government schools, along with a health centre and two public housing sites.
The rectification work came after an audit identified 23 buildings that needed immediate works to reduce the fire risk.
Ms Vassarotti said the government was committed to public safety by reducing the risk and removing the potentially combustible cladding.
"While our work on ACT government building is ongoing, we continue to support eligible owners corporations to replace potentially combustible cladding with our first phase of the private buildings cladding scheme, which was launched in July 2021," Ms Vassarotti said.
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The first-stage of the scheme covers up to half of the costs faced by owners' corporations in assessing and testing the cladding on their buildings to a value of $20,000.
Ms Vassarotti said the government was seeking more information from financial services firms on how to structure the loans scheme, which is due to be launched later this year. Applications for the first stage of the rectification scheme remain open until July 21.
"Phase two of the scheme, which will see remediation works undertaken on eligible buildings, will be facilitated by a concessional loan which will provide financial support for eligible building owners to undertake the removal of cladding from their buildings," she said.
The government-owned buildings where rectification work is completed are:
- Arawang Primary School
- Erindale College
- Gungahlin Oval grandstand
- Lyneham Primary School
- Melrose High School
- National Convention Centre
- Tuggeranong Child And Family Centre
- Yarralumla Primary School
- Two Housing ACT sites
- Canberra High School
- Howard Florey House
- Civic Youth Centre
- ACT Magistrates Court
