The Property Council of Australia (PCA) is urging the federal government to take a leadership role in resolving the insurance crisis for the building and construction sectors, to stop the “intergovernmental merry-go-round” that is leaving building certifiers “unable to do their jobs without insurance cover.”

Read more: ICA urges governments to act on building industry crisis

The industry body wants the Commonwealth government to take the lead in:

• Implementing a nationally consistent standard for risk assessment and rectification work for existing buildings with combustible cladding;
• Establishing a joint task force of industry and governments to design a program that will fund rectification works for building owners left exposed with no recourse; and
• Recommitting to a nationally consistent approach and urgent implementation of the Shergold Weir report recommendations.

“The federal government now needs to play a leadership role and bring together all state and territory governments as matter of urgency to deal with the looming insurance crisis, as well as commit to deliver on the Shergold Weir recommendations,” said Ken Morrison, Property Council of Australia chief executive. “Public confidence in the built environment, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of jobs supported by building and construction, demand this level of action from our governments.”