During Parliamentary Budget Estimates on Tuesday 10 August 2021, I asked about fire safety risk assessments for cladding in Queensland.
You can read the answers below or in the official Queensland Parliament Record of Proceedings (Hansard).
Mr BERKMAN: I will put this one to the director-general. We have already heard from the minister a bit about combustible cladding and what is going on in that space, but I have a question specifically on fire safety risk assessments of buildings in Queensland to determine whether cladding is deemed combustible under the building regulation. What is the government’s rationale for requiring AS1530.1, which is component testing only, rather than the more comprehensive and recent Australian Standard 5113 for full-scale testing of all components together as they would be used in the built environment?
Mr Purtill: I will confess that once you started to cite the Australian standards it made me deflect to my deputy director-general of building, if that is all right.
Mr BERKMAN: Yes.
Mr de BRENNI: Through you, Chair, this is a question that has been dealt with in correspondence with many members of this House. It is an incredibly technical question. The procedures for technical questions in relation to policy matters dating back to decisions a couple of years ago would mean this
would more appropriately be dealt with by a question on notice. To go to the—
Mr BERKMAN: I am happy for the question to be taken on notice.
Mr de BRENNI: I just want to make the point, Chair, that in consideration of the appropriation bills I fail to see how there is anything in the appropriation bills that impacts on a framework for fire inspections and testings—
CHAIR: Thank you, Minister. With the time we have left, I suggest the member could ask a question on notice in the House on that one. Do you have another question?
Mr BERKMAN: I will put another question to the director-general, although the acting director-general seemed willing to take that one, but I will move on. In conducting fire safety risk assessments of cladding in government owned assets—including, for example, the PA Hospital and the Queensland Children’s Hospital—has that more recent AS5113 testing standard been applied?
Mr Atkins: I do not have an answer for that. I would have to take that on notice.
CHAIR: The minister would have to take anything on notice.
Mr de BRENNI: The investigations into the PA Hospital happened several years ago, and there is nothing in either the previous budget or this budget related to the member’s question. I am certainly happy to engage with the member in relation to the rollout of the remainder of the Safer Buildings program. Investigations into the locations that he specifically asked about and the standards applied at that time are not matters that pertain to the current Appropriation Bill.