Only a small fraction of buildings with flammable cladding have been fixed, and owners are feeling the strain

Australia has more than 3,400 buildings with flammable cladding. In Victoria alone, at least 71 of these buildings have been classified as “extreme risk” and another 368 as “high risk”. Despite the tragic evidence of the risks of cladding fires, rectification work had been completed on only 11 of these buildings by February 2021.

The estimated cost of making these buildings safe is in the billions. State governments have provided limited funding to rectify the highest-risk buildings. Occupants of lower-risk buildings have largely been left to fund the work themselves.