Cladding Safety Victoria has provided information intended for owners of buildings who are replacing combustible cladding with a list of suitable replacement options to consider.
Combustible materials and external walls
External walls are those walls deemed integral to the building construction and include elements such as insulation, facades, internal lining and framing.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) has specific requirements regarding the spread of fire and the use of non-combustible materials (including cladding) on external walls. These are further discussed below.
Compliance with the Building Code of Australia
The Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2018 require that all building work comply with the requirements set out in the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
Compliance with the requirements of the BCA is achieved when the performance requirement is satisfied. Performance requirements can be achieved through adoption of the “deemed-to-satisfy” requirements as set out in the BCA or development of a performance solution that demonstrates all relevant performance requirements or equivalence to deemed-to-satisfy provisions.
Spread of fire via external walls
The BCA requires that buildings must have elements which will, to the degree necessary, avoid the spread of fire to exits, sole-occupancy units and public corridors, between buildings, and in a building (the Performance Requirement).
The BCA also confirms that a deemed-to-satisfy solution for the Performance Requirement is ensuring that the building elements of external walls are non-combustible. The BCA also confirms that following materials, when entirely composed of themselves, are non-combustible and may be used wherever a non-combustible material is required:
- Aluminium, including aluminium alloy
- Autoclaved aerated concrete, including mortar
- Brass
- Bronze
- Ceramic
- Concrete
- Copper
- Iron
- Lead
- Masonry, including mortar
- Natural stone
- Porcelain
- Steel, including metallic coated steel
- Terracotta
- Zinc
Observed replacements for combustible cladding
CSV has also observed the following products being used to replace the prohibited cladding materials from external walls:
| Current cladding product on your building | Suitable replacement product options |
|---|---|
| ACP-PE (Aluminium Composite Panel with polyethylene core) | Aluminium Composite Panel with non-combustible core |
| Ceramic Panel | |
| Steel Panel | |
| Compressed Fibre Cement (CFC) | |
| Solid Aluminium Panel | |
| Solid Steel Panel | |
| Rendered Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) | Autoclaved Aerated Concrete |
| Ceramic Panel | |
| Compressed Fibre Cement (CFC) or Fibre Cement Sheet | |
| Insulated Sandwich Panel | |
| Mineral Wool Panel | |
| Synthetic Polymer Timbers | Aluminium Extruded Panel |
| Solid Steel Panel | |
| Fibre Cement Sheet |
Additional information about each category of product is provided below.
Cladding materials
Owners must ensure that they are complying with the requirements of the BCA prior to selecting any products listed on this webpage.
A building permit will be required to approve any of the following (below) replacement cladding products, or any other products.
Updated