August 2020 Earthquake prone buildings - Public consultation

The Building (Earthquake-Prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 came into force on 1 July 2017. It changes the current system for identifying and remediating earthquake-prone buildings.  

The new system prioritises identification and remediation of earthquake-prone buildings which either pose a high risk to life or are critical to recovery in an emergency. Certain hospital, emergency, and education buildings which are earthquake-prone will be classified as ‘priority buildings’. 

Other earthquake-prone buildings may be priority buildings because of their location and the potential impact on people if they failed in an earthquake. These buildings must be identified with community input. Priority buildings must be identified and remediated in half the usual time to reduce the risks more promptly. 

Council must identify thoroughfares which have unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and sufficient vehicular or pedestrian traffic to warrant prioritisation if parts of URM buildings were to fall onto them in an earthquake.

We have started the process of identifying thoroughfares we believe could be prioritised and we are seeking your help with this.

We encourage any person, group or business with an interest who would like to make a submission to provide feedback. Submissions must be received by Council no later than 5pm on Friday 30 October 2020.

View the statement of proposal.