Cladding and External Wall Fire Safety in NSW: Where Things Stand in 2026
Combustible cladding remains an active compliance issue for some NSW buildings in 2026. For strata committees and building managers, the immediate question is not only when the facade will be remediated, but what must happen while the existing cladding remains in place.
Cladding remediation and ongoing fire safety compliance are separate, although related, workstreams. A remediation project does not suspend the requirements applying to the building’s existing fire safety measures, Fire Safety Schedule or Annual Fire Safety Statement.
Why combustible cladding is still a live issue in NSW
Aluminium composite panels, commonly referred to as ACP, have been widely used on external walls and facades. Their fire performance varies according to the panel composition, wall system, installation and the way the product is used on a particular building.
NSW has a building product use ban covering specified uses of aluminium composite panels with a core containing more than 30 per cent polyethylene by mass on certain building classifications.
That ban does not mean every building that already had the product installed before the ban must automatically remove it. For existing buildings, the position depends on the building itself, the assessed fire risk and any requirements imposed by the relevant authority.
This is why the presence of ACP should not be treated as a simple yes-or-no compliance test. The building’s documentation, external wall construction, previous assessments and any council or regulatory action all need to be considered.
Who can require action on an NSW building?
Several authorities can be involved in combustible cladding matters, but their roles are not interchangeable.
Local councils and other enforcement authorities
Fire safety orders sit within the development control order framework under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
Depending on the building and the relevant consent or enforcement arrangements, an authority may investigate fire safety conditions and issue an order requiring specific work or other measures.
For an affected building, this can include investigation of external wall materials, rectification work and measures intended to manage the fire risk before permanent work is finished.
Fire and Rescue NSW
Fire and Rescue NSW has a separate role in building fire safety. It may inspect buildings in circumstances provided for by the legislation, provide fire safety advice and make recommendations to the relevant authority.
FRNSW also provides guidance on combustible external cladding and the assessment of proposed cladding solutions.
A strata committee should therefore avoid assuming that correspondence from council, FRNSW and Building Commission NSW serves the same purpose. Each document should be reviewed for the specific action, responsibility or deadline it creates.
Building Commission NSW
Building Commission NSW administers Project Remediate and the current NSW guidance relating to building fire safety reforms, including the 2026 implementation of AS 1851-2012.
Its role in statewide building regulation and remediation programs is different from the site-specific enforcement role that may be exercised by a council or another relevant authority.
Where NSW stands in October 2026
Project Remediate remains part of the NSW Government response to combustible cladding.
It is a voluntary program for eligible Class 2 residential apartment buildings, including eligible mixed-use buildings. The program provides 10-year interest-free loans together with project management and technical support for participating owners corporations.
New registrations have closed.
The NSW Government program page, updated on 29 June 2026, states that Project Remediate was established to assist with combustible cladding on an estimated 225 buildings. This figure describes the estimated program scope, not the number of buildings currently participating.
Remediation and enforcement are also continuing outside the program.
One recent example came on 19 March 2026, when NSW Planning issued Fire Safety Orders relating to two strata properties at Hunter Street in Parramatta. The orders required identified ACP to be replaced and required interim fire safety measures to reduce cladding-related risk until rectification was complete.
For strata committees, this distinction matters. A building does not need to be entering Project Remediate in 2026 for cladding-related obligations to remain active.
What the 2026 Federal Court decision does, and does not, change
On 27 March 2026, the Federal Court delivered judgment in The Owners – Strata Plan No 87231 v 3A Composites GmbH (No 10) [2026] FCA 351.
The representative proceeding concerned Alucobond PE and Alucobond Plus products and claims made against the manufacturer and Australian distributor.
The applicants did not establish the consumer guarantee and misleading conduct claims considered at trial. A significant part of the Court’s reasoning dealt with the particular way the products were selected, used and incorporated into individual buildings, as well as building-specific questions concerning causation and loss.
The decision should not be read as a rule that a manufacturer must pay for cladding replacement. Nor does it establish that owners corporations can never recover remediation costs.
For a strata scheme, the more useful distinction is between two separate questions:
Who needs to organise and fund the work now?
Is there a legal basis to recover some or all of that cost from another party?
The second question can depend on the contracts, parties involved, statutory rights, limitation periods, evidence and circumstances of the individual development. It should not delay work required to manage an existing fire safety risk.
Who pays for cladding remediation?
In a strata scheme, external walls will commonly form part of common property, subject to the particular strata plan and by-laws. NSW strata guidance states that the owners corporation is responsible for maintaining and repairing common property and for organising and paying for those repairs.
That establishes the immediate property-management responsibility. It does not necessarily determine who ultimately bears the cost after any legal claim, settlement or other recovery process.
Depending on the circumstances, an owners corporation may need legal advice about potential rights involving a developer, builder, supplier, manufacturer or another party. The existence of combustible cladding alone does not establish that one of those parties must reimburse the owners corporation.
For buildings already participating in Project Remediate, the program provides an interest-free loan structure for eligible remediation work. New owners corporations cannot now assume that they can enter the program because registrations have closed.
Insurance should also be dealt with on the facts of the building and the wording of the policy. Building managers should keep their broker or insurer informed where appropriate, but statements such as “combustible cladding automatically voids insurance” or “a claim will be refused” should not be treated as general rules.
What to do if your building has not been properly assessed
Do not start by trying to identify the cladding from photographs or its appearance.
Start with the building records.
Locate the current Fire Safety Schedule, the most recent AFSS, building plans, previous facade or cladding reports, inspection records and any correspondence from council, FRNSW, Building Commission NSW or the NSW Government.
Check whether the building has already been assessed and whether the report identifies the external wall system rather than simply referring to ACP in general terms.
Also confirm whether there is an existing notice, Fire Safety Order, remediation plan or other regulatory requirement applying to the property.
If the cladding composition or wall system remains uncertain, the next step is an assessment by appropriately qualified professionals. Identification may require review of documentation, inspection and, where appropriate, testing. Building managers should not undertake invasive investigation themselves.
At the same time, review the building’s existing fire safety measures. A pending facade assessment does not remove the need to maintain the systems and measures already required for the property.
What should happen while remediation is pending?
Cladding remediation can take months or longer. Existing fire protection systems cannot simply be put on hold during that period.
The first question is whether the building is subject to an order, assessment or remediation plan that specifies temporary or interim measures.
Recent NSW enforcement provides a clear example. The March 2026 Parramatta Fire Safety Orders required interim fire safety measures to remain in place until the specified cladding rectification was complete.
This does not create a single statewide checklist that every building with ACP must follow.
Interim measures are building-specific. They may arise from an order, a fire safety assessment, a fire engineering strategy or another documented risk-management process. The person managing the building should identify exactly what applies, who is responsible and how compliance is being recorded.
Existing systems need attention at the same time. Current testing and inspection records should be reviewed for outstanding defects, missed service activities or equipment that is not operating as required.
Where defects have been identified, the fact that major facade work is planned later is not a reason to ignore them. The required response will depend on the measure, the nature of the defect and the building’s compliance requirements.
Ongoing fire system maintenance should also continue according to the requirements applying to the property.
For a strata committee or building manager, a useful working record is:
Check now | What to confirm |
Fire Safety Order or notice | Current requirements, deadlines and interim measures |
Cladding assessment | What was assessed, by whom and what action was recommended |
Fire Safety Schedule | Which fire safety measures and standards apply |
Service records | Whether required inspection, testing and servicing are current |
Defect reports | What remains open and what action has been assigned |
Interim measures | Responsible person, frequency, records and end point |
The purpose of this record is not to create another compliance document. It is to prevent the cladding project and normal fire safety work from being managed as unrelated files by different people.
How cladding risk connects with the AFSS and Fire Safety Schedule
A Fire Safety Schedule identifies the fire safety measures applying to a building and the standard of performance required for those measures.
The Annual Fire Safety Statement process deals with those scheduled measures. For buildings required to submit an AFSS, the relevant measures are assessed to determine whether they are capable of performing to the standard required by the current Fire Safety Schedule.
This assessment is carried out by an appropriately Accredited Practitioner Fire Safety.
The AFSS process should not be confused with a cladding assessment.
An AFSS does not, by itself, certify that an external wall or cladding system is safe. A cladding investigation does not replace the assessment of the other fire safety measures on the building’s Fire Safety Schedule.
The two processes can therefore run at the same time.
This became particularly relevant from 13 February 2026. From that date, NSW made AS 1851-2012 mandatory for routine servicing of relevant fire protection systems and equipment in new and existing Class 1b and Class 2 to 9 buildings.
For measures covered by the standard, building owners need to make sure required inspection, testing and servicing is being carried out. Where an applicable performance solution provides different maintenance requirements, those requirements need to be followed.
Measures outside the scope of AS 1851-2012 do not simply disappear from the maintenance program. They still need to be managed according to the requirements that apply to the building, including the Fire Safety Schedule and relevant design or approval requirements.
NSW guidance also requires servicing records to be retained and available for inspection. This makes documentation increasingly relevant when the building reaches its next Annual Fire Safety Statement cycle.
A practical next-step checklist
If your building has known or suspected combustible cladding, the following sequence provides a practical starting point:
Find the current Fire Safety Schedule and latest AFSS. Confirm which fire safety measures are actually listed for the building.
Establish the cladding status. Obtain any existing facade reports, cladding assessments, remediation designs and Project Remediate documentation.
Check correspondence from regulators. Review council, NSW Planning and FRNSW documents for open orders, notices, actions or deadlines.
Review servicing records. Confirm that inspection, testing and maintenance requirements for existing fire safety measures are current.
Identify open defects. Record who is responsible for each item and whether further assessment or rectification is required.
Document interim measures separately. If an order or building-specific assessment requires them, record what must be done, how often and when the requirement ends.
Separate cost recovery from immediate compliance work. Legal, insurance or contractual questions about who ultimately pays may continue while required safety and remediation work moves forward.
For committees reviewing their wider obligations at the same time, the NSW strata fire safety compliance guide covers the broader responsibilities around fire safety documentation, maintenance and annual compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is combustible cladding banned in NSW?
NSW has a building product use ban covering specified uses of aluminium composite panels with a core containing more than 30 per cent polyethylene by mass on certain classes of buildings.
The ban is not an automatic removal order for every building where the product was installed before the ban came into force. Existing buildings need to be considered according to their particular circumstances and any requirements imposed by the relevant authority.
Does an AFSS certify that the building’s cladding is safe?
No.
An AFSS deals with the fire safety measures identified on the building’s Fire Safety Schedule and whether those measures are capable of performing to their required standard. It is not, by itself, a certification of the external wall or cladding system.
Who pays to replace combustible cladding in a strata building?
There is no single answer for every scheme.
Where the facade is common property, the owners corporation has responsibilities for maintenance and repair. Whether some or all of the cost can later be recovered from a developer, builder, supplier, manufacturer or another party depends on the particular legal and factual position.
Buildings already participating in Project Remediate may have access to the program’s funding structure, but new registrations are closed.
Can a building remain occupied while cladding remediation is pending?
There is no universal answer.
It depends on the building, the assessed risk and any conditions, notices or orders applying to the premises. NSW enforcement examples show that interim fire safety measures can be required while a building remains in the remediation process.
If occupancy is in question for a particular property, the relevant order and advice for that building should be reviewed rather than relying on a general rule.
What should a strata committee do while remediation is pending?
Keep the cladding work and ongoing fire safety compliance moving in parallel.
Track the remediation process and any interim requirements, while continuing the inspection, testing, maintenance, defect management, AFSS work and record keeping required for the building’s existing fire safety measures.
This article provides general information only. Requirements vary according to the building, its classification, approvals, Fire Safety Schedule and any orders applying to the premises. Building-specific legal, fire engineering and insurance advice should be obtained where required.
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