The City of Melbourne worked with owners and occupiers of the Lacrosse Building, 673-675 La Trobe Street, Docklands following the findings of an investigation into a fire at the building on 25 November 2014. This led to the following actions.
Building orders
Following the issuing of building notices to all owners and owners’ corporations in May and June 2015, the City of Melbourne’s Municipal Building Surveyor then issued all owners and owners’ corporations with building orders and invited them to a public meeting on Tuesday 27 October 2015. The building orders required works to be undertaken to the building, to make it compliant within a specified timeframe.
If you’re a Lacrosse owner or from the relevant owners corporation, you can see the letter,
Building Orders and Invitation to Public Meeting (DOC 145 KB) you should have received dealing primarily with the building’s cladding issue.
For more information see:
Public meeting – Tuesday 27 October 2015
Following the issuing of building orders to owners and owners’ corporations in October 2015, owners were invited to a public meeting on Tuesday 27 October 2015. It included presentations from the City of Melbourne’s Municipal Building Surveyor, Joseph Genco; the Victorian Building Authority Director Technical and Regulation, Jarrod Edwards; and Trevor Main Group Managing Director, Fraser Main. This meeting provided information about the next steps, and an opportunity for questions.
If you are a Lacrosse building owner or owners’ corporation and were unable to attend the meeting, you can
view a video recording. See:
- Joseph Genco's presentation at 12:10 minutes
- Jarrod Edwards' presentation at 52:05 minutes
- Fraser Main's presentation at 128.15 minutes.
You can also read the meeting reports:
Owners with questions about their building orders can call the City of Melbourne or email
lacrosse@melbourne.vic.gov.au.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) found that the fire was accidental, ignited by a cigarette and fuelled by storage of household items on balconies. The MFB also found the use of an external wall cladding that does not comply with Australian standards for this type of building contributed to the spread of the fire. For a summary of their findings, visit the
MFB.
Is the building safe?
The City of Melbourne held a meeting with owners and occupiers on 27 April 2015, as well as on 27 October 2015, informing residents that the building is safe.
It is important to know that although the building is safe for occupation, this is due to the following:
- a temporary increase of resources from the Melbourne Fire Brigade to immediately respond to any fire alarm in the building
- essential safety measures, including sprinklers, smoke detection and alarms are functioning and being maintained
- shared responsibility of keeping the balconies clear of excessive clutter.
This is not a sustainable ongoing solution and the compliance issue must be addressed within the timeframe of the building order or any amended building order.
What is City of Melbourne doing now?
Following the issuing of the building orders, the City of Melbourne is continuing to offer support to owners and the owners' corporations by organising meeting rooms for owners who wish to meet to discuss this issue.
The Municipal Building Surveyor will also be available for owner meetings and property owners to provide information on the process.
What is the Victorian Building Authority doing?
The Victorian Building Authority is conducting an audit of cladding on high-rise buildings in the inner Melbourne area. For more information see the
Victorian Building Authority.
More information
Owners and occupiers of Lacrosse Building:
- For general enquiries about your building, please contact the Lacrosse Building’s facility manager, the Trevor Main Group on 8102 1300.
- For enquiries relating to building notices or building orders, please contact the City of Melbourne’s Building Control Group.
You can also call the Victorian Building Authority on 1300 815 127 to find out if the cladding on your building complies with the National Construction Code.
See the Municipal Building Surveyor's report into the
Lacrosse Building Fire (PDF 2.5 MB).