Cladding program puts apartment fire safety in spotlight

Victoria’s combustible cladding rectification program has prompted fresh scrutiny of fire safety systems in apartment buildings, with a new survey identifying gaps in documentation, maintenance records and owner understanding.

After six years, thousands of assessments and hundreds of construction projects, Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) is preparing to complete its cladding rectification program in mid-2026.

The program was established to respond to the risk of combustible cladding on residential buildings and has supported tens of thousands of owners through assessment and rectification works.

But through its work, CSV says it has also gained insight into the broader state of Essential Safety Measures, commonly known as ESMs, in multi-owner residential buildings.

ESMs are the systems and features designed to operate in the event of a fire, including wet systems, detection systems and warning systems.

In 2025, CSV worked with Fire Rescue Victoria to survey a sample of buildings and assess whether ESMs were present, maintained and functioning. The survey was designed to understand operational readiness rather than conduct a formal compliance audit.

The findings were mixed. All wet, detection and warning systems surveyed were operational at the time of inspection, providing practical assurance that key systems were functioning.

However, the survey also found that around one third of buildings had inconsistencies between occupancy permit documentation and on-site conditions.

All buildings surveyed were missing a complete set of maintenance documents, while 18 per cent of building owners could not produce their latest Annual Essential Safety Measures Report when requested.

CSV chief executive Dan O’Brien said the report highlighted concerning trends for fire safety systems in Victorian buildings.

“We found that although systems were generally operational, documentation and testing regimes are letting buildings down, compromising their readiness for such an event.”

Mr O’Brien said the findings pointed to a misalignment between paperwork and the actual condition of fire safety systems inside apartment buildings.

“This should be of concern to building owners given these are the very systems that are designed to keep the building safe if there is a fire,” he said.

He said records were often incomplete and fragmented, with large inconsistencies in ESM testing regimes.

CSV also found the Annual Essential Safety Measures Report was not always giving owners the assurance it should.

“The Annual Essential Safety Measures Report is an essential document for building owners, giving assurance of their ESM functionality,” Mr O’Brien said.

“We found that across the board the quality of this document is not providing the assurance to owners that it should be.”

CSV has backed proposed Victorian Government reforms aimed at strengthening the regulatory system for the quality and maintenance of ESMs, including a new Building Manual that owners’ corporations would be responsible for maintaining.

The full Essential Safety Measures report is available on CSV’s website. •