Australia’s construction industry is raising the alarm about the planned closure of a major testing laboratory in Sydney, warning that its loss would halve the nation’s fire testing capability for building products and have serious implications for building quality and safety, innovation, project development and new housing delivery.

(image: CSIRO)

In May, the CSIRO said that it would close its North Ryde Fire Technology Laboraatory in December.

The decision followed a review of the organisation’s property portfolio in regard to infrastructure technologies. The review is understood to have been tied to financial constraints and organisational priorities.

Located in Sydney’s North, the North Ryde Fire Technology Laboratory is one of Australia’s most important building product testing facilities.

The facility is used extensively to conduct important fire resistance testing of new construction materials and systems.

It provides independent fire testing that supports product certification, compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC), research and development and the commercialisation of innovative building products.

Building industry associations and commentators have raised alarm at the planned closure.

Simon Croft, Chief Executive – Industry and Policy at Housing Industry Association (HIA), said that the planned closure would remove up to half of Australia’s large-scale fire testing capacity.

He warns that this will have flow-on implications for housing innovation, new building product development and the delivery of new homes.

“The closure of CSIRO’s North Ryde Fire Technology Laboratory is more than the loss of a testing facility, it is the loss of nationally significant innovation infrastructure,” Croft said.

“Independent testing capability is fundamental to developing new building products, supporting housing delivery and accelerating modern construction methods. At a time when Australia faces a housing shortage and is seeking to boost productivity, we should be strengthening these capabilities, not reducing them.”

Croft says that Australia’s ability to adopt innovative building projects and construction systems relies on access to timely, affordable and independent testing services.

“Every new building product, construction system, prefabricated solution, engineered timber product or bushfire-resistant housing component must pass rigorous testing before it can be widely adopted by the industry,” he said.

“Without that capability, innovation slows, costs increase and housing delivery becomes harder.

“Industry stakeholders have warned that reduced testing capacity could result in longer approval timeframes, increased certification costs and further pressure on housing supply.

“Australia cannot afford to lose decades of specialist expertise and nationally significant testing capability without a clear replacement strategy.”

Other commentators agree.

Lawyer Bronwyn Weir, a co-author of the landmark Building Confidence Report for what was then known as the Building Minsters Forum (now known as the Building Ministers Meeting) in 2018, backed the HIA’s comments.

Weir cautioned that independent testing of building products is fundamental to ensuring the quality and safety of buildings and homes.

She added that the CSIRO facility played a critical role in helping governments and industry to address the crisis which occurred when thousands of buildings across the nation’s cities were found to be clad with dangerous material.

“I agree with all aspects of HIA’s media release (raising alarm at the planned closure),” Weir said.

“Independent and reliable testing of building products is fundamental to the regulation of building products in Australia through the NCC evidence of suitability (EoS) provisions. We know that compliance with EoS requirements is poor. This is how we ended up with thousands of multi-storey buildings covered in non-compliant cladding products which has cost the community many hundreds of millions of dollars. The CSIRO testing facility was instrumental in the response of governments to the combustible cladding issues.

“It is essential that compliance with EoS is strengthened. This would require more capacity for product testing in Australia. There could not be a worse time for the CSIRO facility to be closed down without a clear and funded succession plan.

“If Australia’s governments are serious about addressing housing supply, housing affordability and assuring the community that what we build will be complaint and safe, it is imperative that they commit to not only maintaining the testing services offered by CSIRO’s North Ryde facility but to increasing their capacity.

“If we limp along with inadequate building product regulation and a shrinking capability to provide the required testing to support an effective EoS regime, Australia’s capacity to respond to the next building product crisis will be undermined.”

(image: CSIRO)

Neil Savery, an independent expert who has extensive experience in building regulation across Australia and internationally, shares similar concerns.

Noting that the decision appears to be related to the CSIRO’s property portfolio, Savery says that it may be possible to move the testing to a more suitable location.

However, he raises broader concerns about the loss of sovereign testing capability.

“In relation to the subject of the impending closure of the fire testing facility at North Ryde in Sydney, I do share the concerns of many others within the building industry,” Savery said.

“In saying this, I note that the decision appears to be property related, which may be due to a combination of rationalisation, costs savings and the practicalities of continuing to perform the types of tests involved at the current location given the encroachment of surrounding development.

“If this is the case, then it is not a reason to cease the provision of this essential capability in Australia, which can occur at a more appropriate location. Of course, this would come at a cost of relocating what I understand would be some substantial test equipment, which would need to be factored into a business model to enable feasible operation over the long-term. Not being privy to these details makes it hard to speculate or comment further on this specific.

“More broadly, however, I am concerned about the loss of an independent, highly reputable and independent sovereign capability to conduct not just commercial testing for product manufacturers and the like, but research that may be necessary for governments and their agencies, which could include fire authorities, building regulators or scientific institutions looking at both new and innovative technologies, as well as potentially non-conforming products. At a time when we are looking to strengthen testing, inspection and certification, particularly for high-risk products, which encompasses anything to do with fire, this capability is as important as ever. Bushfire resilience or new façade technologies would be two good examples.

“There is a science to building as there is to other human endeavors that CSIRO includes in its portfolio as part of the national interest. Construction will often test the margins of tolerances, which has a practicality and cost equation, as well as a human safety imperative. This should not be left only to private sector providers whose profit motive may impact access for public good. Once that capability is gone, which is not just the facility, but many of those who work at it and the corporate knowledge, it is difficult to bring back. “And if we think this may not be necessary, we need only look at other capabilities we have lost and come to regret in the context of the geopolitical impacts on supply chains.

“If New Zealand can provide this capability, cross-subsidised through its building levy, then that should not be out of the equation for Australia, noting the significant contribution the building sector makes to GDP.”

Finally, Jeremy Turner, technical and policy manager at the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors, has warned that transitioning to a fully commercial testing environment would present challenges to independence, consistency and industry confidence.

Turner says the closure would reduce Australia’s sovereign fire testing capability and increase reliance on commercial and overseas testing pathways.

This is happening at a time when governments are placing greater emphasis on product assurance, regulatory compliance and safer buildings. It could also place additional pressure on testing capacity, slowing product certification and innovation.

Turner is also concerned about broader implications for the building surveying profession.

In response, AIBS has written directly to CSIRO outlining its concerns and is supporting broader industry calls for the facility to remain operational while a sustainable long-term solution is developed.

“The current regulatory environment places a strong emphasis on building product conformity, assurance and public safety. Independent testing capability is fundamental to maintaining confidence in the products used in Australian buildings,” Turner said.

“Over the past decade, building surveyors have invested heavily in strengthening professional standards and reducing practice risk. A key part of that work has been AIBS’s Professional Standards Scheme, which has recently been renewed for a further five years after successfully improving confidence in the profession.

“This work has helped restore confidence among professional indemnity insurers. The loss of an independent national fire testing facility has the potential to introduce additional practice risk that could, over time, affect the availability of professional indemnity insurance for building surveyors.”

“We are not calling for the service to remain at North Ryde indefinitely.

“Our call is simple. Delay the closure until there is a clear plan to continue this essential capability, whether at North Ryde or another suitable location, so there is no loss of service or confidence in Australia’s building safety framework.”

Plan needed to maintain capability

Croft called for governments, industry and the CSIRO t work together to ensure that independent fire testing capability remains available in Australia.

“If Australia is serious about building more homes, embracing innovation and improving productivity in construction, we need world-class testing and certification infrastructure. The North Ryde facility has played a vital role in providing exactly that.

“Governments, industry and CSIRO must work together to ensure independent fire-testing capability remains available in Australia and that there is no gap in the infrastructure needed to support housing innovation and research and development.

“HIA is calling for an urgent national response to preserve Australia’s building testing capability and ensure researchers, manufacturers and builders continue to have access to the facilities required to bring innovative housing solutions to market.”