Combustible cladding · Post-CSV
The Cladding Safety Victoria program has closed. Here is what building owners need to do now.
CSV closed to new applicants in 2023 and its functions transferred to the Building and Plumbing Commission. The obligation to identify and rectify non-compliant cladding has not closed — it stayed with you.
Background
What the CSV program was and what it covered.
Cladding Safety Victoria was a state government agency established in 2019, in the wake of the 2014 Lacrosse fire in Docklands and the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. After the 2018–19 Victorian cladding audit identified hundreds of residential buildings with non-compliant combustible cladding, CSV was created to administer a publicly funded rectification program. The program prioritised residential mid- and high-rise buildings on a risk-tiered basis: highest risk first, funded works completed under direct CSV oversight, lower-risk buildings either co-funded with owners corporations or left to private rectification. CSV did not cover commercial buildings, low-rise residential, or buildings with cladding outside the original audit scope.
The transition
What closed, and when.
In 2023, CSV's funded rectification program closed to new applicants and CSV's regulatory functions transferred to the Building and Plumbing Commission. Buildings already enrolled were not abandoned mid-program — works in progress continued — but no new buildings can be added to the funded program. The Commission continues to administer compliance oversight, but it does not write rectification cheques. If your building was not assessed by CSV before closure, the funded pathway is no longer available to you. The state has not extended the program, and there has been no announcement of a replacement funding scheme.
Enrolled buildings
If your building was enrolled in CSV.
If your building was enrolled in CSV and works were completed, you should have received compliance documentation from CSV and the contractor. That documentation forms your defensible compliance record — keep it accessible for insurance renewals, future sales, and any regulatory inquiry. If your enrolled building's works are still in progress, those works are continuing under existing arrangements; CSV's transition to the Commission did not pause active rectifications. If your building was enrolled but works never started, contact the Building and Plumbing Commission directly — your status depends on where in the queue your building sat at the program's close.
Not enrolled
If your building was never enrolled — the obligation is still yours.
For every building that was not enrolled in CSV — by far the larger group — the obligation to identify and rectify non-compliant cladding remains unchanged. It is set out in the Building Act 1993 and the National Construction Code, and it applies regardless of whether the building was ever audited, considered for CSV funding, or formally notified of a concern. The owner or owners corporation is responsible. The closure of the funded program does not waive, defer, or transfer that obligation. It only changes how it is paid for.
Private funding
What rectification costs, and how to plan for it.
With state funding off the table, rectification becomes a private project — paid for by the owners corporation through accumulated funds or a special levy, or by an individual building owner from their own balance sheet. The cost depends entirely on the scope, which depends on the building. A four-storey residential block with a single elevation of combustible cladding will cost a fraction of a twenty-storey tower wrapped on three sides. The starting point is always the same: an accredited assessment that defines scope, so that cost and timeline can be planned realistically. Without a defect report, OC committees cannot put a credible motion to a vote, and building owners cannot present a credible plan to an insurer.
What to do now
Six steps from awareness to compliant rectification.
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01
Accredited assessment
Commission a facade specialist to identify cladding type and extent across the building.
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02
Defect report
Receive a photo-referenced report classifying fire risk and recommending remedial action.
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03
Legal and financial advice
OCs should consult a strata lawyer on resolution requirements and a strata-finance specialist on funding mechanisms.
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04
OC or owner decision
A formal resolution authorises proceeding to works — typically requiring a special-resolution majority for the levy that funds it.
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05
Works procurement
Engage a registered building practitioner to specify the compliant replacement system and deliver the rectification.
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06
Compliance record
File the works documentation as your ongoing evidence of compliance — for insurers, regulators, and any future owner.
Questions
Post-CSV cladding questions, answered.
Need a private assessment to understand your building's position?
Summit Facades carries out accredited cladding assessments and provides the defect report your owners corporation or risk register needs to make a decision. We do not write cheques and we do not take government funding — we just do the work.
Request an assessment