Cladding crisis: Victorian taxpayers to foot massive bill to remove dangerous cladding from private buildings

Victorian taxpayers are facing an enormous bill to fix the state’s flammable cladding crisis.

The Victorian government has today announced a new body, Cladding Safety Victoria, to deal with dangerous cladding.

The Andrews government has set aside $600 million dollars to target the issue, but only $300 million has been committed from existing funds.

Housing minister Richard Wynne said it was “disappointing” the federal government had indicated they weren’t interested in contributing.

“We had hoped to have a partnership with the federal government on this,” he told Tom Elliott.

“Now that they’ve made the decision they won’t (contribute) funds, we are now looking at the implementation of a planning levy.”

Click PLAY to watch Richard Wynne’s chat with Tom Elliott

James Talia, 3AW state political reporter, said the building permit levy for a standard apartment is expected to rise from about $1600 to $3500 under this option.

“It’ll be passed on, I can’t imagine that developers will absorb that cost,” he told Neil Mitchell.

The new body will begin by fixing the 15 highest risk buildings, with cladding removal works to begin within weeks.

The Victorian Cladding Taskforce has identified around 500 affected buildings statewide.

The Andrews Government is expected to seek damages from building surveyors, builders and other responsible parties in future.

Last month The Rumour File revealed the secret plans for the new body, after discovering a website domain for the authority.

Press PLAY below for more info.

Click PLAY to hear from Housing Minister Richard Wynne on 3AW Drive

Rumour File reveals secret plans for new cladding crisis body