A leading building engineer says replacing non-compliant cladding on residential properties in Victoria should be a priority.

Judith Hackitt, Chairman of the UK’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, has criticised the State Government for banning flammable cladding on new buildings but doing too little about current non-compliant buildings.

Construction safety is too focused on site workers, not future residents, she says.

The construction system has a “tick a box” mentality to regulation, rather than focusing on whether a building is fit for purpose.

Ms Hackitt warns responsibility must be assigned at every step of a building’s life cycle, from design and construction to occupation, and high-rise buildings must be treated as complex systems, rather than separate parts.

The question of who is responsible for cladding removal is contentious. A state tripartite loan scheme puts the onus on residents to pay for removal. The insurance industry has criticised the scheme for its complexity.

A recent fire at a Melbourne CBD tower block quickly spread out of control and needed 60 firefighters to subdue it. Cladding on the Spencer Street building is similar to that on London’s Grenfell Tower, where scores of people died in a 2017 fire.

About 750-1400 buildings in Victoria feature banned cladding, including several hospitals.

Ms Hackitt is visiting Australia from the UK as a guest of RMIT University.