Non-compliant Building Materials

The use of non-compliant building materials is a controversial topic within the construction industry at present, particularly after the combustible cladding disasters in the Lacrosse building in Victoria and the Grenfell Tower in London.

Non-compliant building products:

• present a safety risk;
• do not meet the required standards for the use in which they are intended; and
• do not perform or are not capable of performing for use or standard it is represented to perform by or for a person in the chain of responsibility for the product.

Succumbing to the pressure to minimise costs and increase profits at the expense of quality, has in some circumstances, led to extensive defects and significant claims by owners and body corporates for the costs to rectify the defective works. This has led to significant and in some cases prohibitive increases to premiums for professional indemnity insurance for building certifiers.

State governments across Australia are taking steps to adopt processes and safeguards to identify and rectify non-compliant products. Dark Legal is familiar with these new laws and has experience acting for clients defending claims in respect of non-compliant building products.