SA authorities will examine 77 buildings including the Adelaide Oval, medical research SAHMRI building and New Royal Adelaide Hospital after an initial audit showed they contained aluminium cladding that could pose a fire risk.
The second phase of an initial audit of 4500 CBD buildings will take between six and 12 months to complete and will examine fire systems in the buildings identified – 38 of which had "very limited or isolated" cladding – as well as compliance of the cladding with the National Construction Code, Planning Minister John Rau said on Friday.
The state government, Adelaide City Council and the Metropolitan Fire Service would "take immediate action" if any building was found to be a risk during the detailed building-by-building investigation, Mr Rau said.
"Certified aluminium composite panel cladding products can be used safely, when installed in accordance with the National Construction Code," he said.
Authorities across the country are grappling with the issue of how many buildings may pose a fire risk by having cladding installed on buildings in contravention of the building code. Based on the results of a Victorian audit after the 2014 Lacrosse residential tower fire that found more than half of 170 residential buildings in the Melbourne CBD failed to comply with fire standards, the number of buildings across Australia in the same situation was "going to be a lot", a senior Victorian fire officer told a senate inquiry last month.
Unclear solution
When it comes to residential buildings, a further problem for consumers is that the responsibility for fixing the problem is unclear. Nearly three years after the November 2014 fire at Melbourne's Lacrosse residential tower, the flammable cladding that caused fire to race up the side of the building remains in place.
Outside of the CBD, 30 local councils in SA are conducting initial audits of their own buildings, Mr Rau said.
Master Builders SA chief executive Ian Markos said the government was taking the right approach.
"We're pleased that the audit has confirmed none of the buildings represent a safety risk, and we're interested in the second phase to see whether they comply with the National Construction Code and the focus on essential fire systems," Mr Markos said.
