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Section 7 of the ABCB Housing Provisions sets deemed-to-satisfy provisions for metal sheet roofing, roof tiles, gutters and downpipes, and timber and composite wall cladding. Metal wall cladding is not in that section: the Code points to Volume Two, where a metal wall cladding satisfies the performance requirement if it is designed and constructed in accordance with AS 1562.1. Other construction methods can be used if they meet the performance requirements, which is the route most proprietary cladding systems take.

That matters practically. If your cladding is a proprietary product outside the deemed-to-satisfy provisions, compliance rests on the manufacturer's installation instructions and their evidence of suitability, not on a generic trade practice. Ask for the installation manual for the specific product and check that what is being proposed on your wall, particularly at corners, junctions, openings and the bottom edge, is what that manual actually shows.

Ask also about what sits behind the cladding. Sarking-type materials are covered by AS 4200.1, and the arrangement of the wrap, any drainage cavity and the flashings at windows and doors is what keeps the wall dry once wind-driven rain gets past the face, which it will. Cladding is a screen, not a seal, and a system that has no plan for the water that gets behind it will fail regardless of the material.

The Housing Provisions are specific about weatherboards in ways that are easy to check on site. Splayed timber weatherboards must lap by at least 30 millimetres for hardwood, Cypress and treated pine, 20 millimetres for Western Red Cedar and 25 millimetres for Baltic Pine. Splayed boards take one fixing at each stud or equivalent framing member, and for wind classes N1 to N3 the maximum stud spacing is 600 millimetres. Fibre cement boards use their own specified nails or screws at comparable spacings. A lap that has been stretched to save a board, or fixings that have missed the studs, is a defect you can see from a ladder.

Ground clearance is the requirement most often breached, and it is the one that causes rot years later. The bottom of the cladding must be at least 150 millimetres above finished ground level in the general case, at least 100 millimetres in low rainfall intensity areas or in sandy, well-drained ground, and at least 50 millimetres above impermeable paved or concreted surfaces. Where there is a suspended floor, the cladding must also extend at least 50 millimetres below the bearer or the lowest horizontal part of the floor framing.

Sequence and detail do the rest. Expect the wall to be opened up and inspected, any damaged framing replaced, the wrap and flashings installed and lapped so water is directed outwards at every horizontal junction, then the cladding fixed from the bottom up with the specified lap, then the corners, window and door trims and the bottom edge detailed. Ask what happens if rot, termite damage or unexpected asbestos is found once the old cladding comes off, and get that answer in the contract rather than discovering it as a variation.

Asbestos first, because it determines whether the rest of the job is even possible as described. SafeWork NSW records asbestos cement in roofing, guttering, downpipes, eaves, cover strips, flashings and fencing, typically from the 1940s to the late 1980s. High-pressure water, power tools and compressed air must never be used on it, which rules out pressure-washing a fibro wall before painting, and cutting or sanding it is worse. A licensed asbestos removalist is required for any amount of friable asbestos and for more than 10 square metres of non-friable bonded material, with a licensed professional recommended for any amount. Recladding a fibro house is an asbestos removal project with cladding attached, and should be quoted that way.

Termites are the second Australian constant. The Code treats steel, aluminium and other metals, concrete, masonry, fibre-reinforced cement, and naturally resistant or preservative-treated timber as not subject to termite attack, which is a real advantage of fibre cement and metal cladding on susceptible sites. Where a termite management system exists, there is a durable notice fixed in a prominent location recording the system and the recommended inspection frequency, and any work that disturbs the barrier at the base of a wall needs the system reinstated.

Then fire and salt. On designated bushfire prone land, a Class 1 house and its associated Class 10a structures and decks must be designed and constructed to reduce the risk of ignition from a bushfire, with the deemed-to-satisfy path being construction to AS 3959 at the bushfire attack level assessed for the site, or the NASH standard for steel framed construction in bushfire areas. The assessed level constrains external wall materials and the gaps and junctions where embers enter, so have it established before ordering cladding. Near the coast, salt attacks fixings, flashings and coatings first, so the fastener and finish specification deserves as much attention as the board itself.

Cladding work is squarely inside the licensing system in most states, and New South Wales says so directly: cladding replacement is listed as general building work, for which a contractor licence is required above the Home Building Act threshold, with substantial penalties for unlicensed work. Queensland issues roof and wall cladding as a specific QBCC trade class covering selection and installation of cladding, flashing penetrations through roofs and walls, and external flashings, soffits and fascias, and requires a licence for building work above its threshold. Western Australia registers builders through the Building Services Board, supported by Building and Energy, under the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011. Victoria registers building practitioners and licenses trades by class.

Whether you need a building approval is a separate question with a local answer. Replacing cladding like for like is often treated as maintenance, but changing the wall build-up, altering openings, affecting the structure, working on a heritage-listed or character-controlled property, or building on bushfire prone land can all bring it into the approval system. Councils also apply their own character and streetscape controls in some areas, which can dictate what the front of the house may be clad in. Ask your council or a registered building surveyor for your address.

LokalMatch is where the search starts rather than where the decision is made. You describe the cladding job once, including the existing material, the approximate wall area, the age of the house, and whether the site is bushfire prone or coastal, and matched cladding contractors and builders contact you directly. Those businesses pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not carry out cladding work, does not set or quote prices and does not vet, rank or recommend any business, so confirming licences, insurance and asbestos arrangements before work starts is your responsibility.

Recladding is residential building work, so above your state's threshold the statutory scheme applies. In New South Wales, home building compensation cover must be in place for contracts above the scheme threshold, a written contract is required above the contract threshold, and the deposit cannot exceed 10 per cent of the price on either small or large jobs. In Queensland, the Home Warranty Scheme covers residential construction work above its threshold with the contractor paying the premium based on the insurable value. In Victoria, domestic building insurance is required above the contract threshold, the builder must take it out, and you must be given the certificate of currency before any deposit or other money is taken, with cover responding to structural defects for six years and non-structural defects for two.

The Australian Consumer Law guarantees enforced by the ACCC apply on top of all of that and cannot be contracted away: the work must be carried out with acceptable care and skill, it must be fit for any purpose you made known, and it must be supplied within a reasonable time where none was agreed. The cladding products themselves are goods with their own guarantees, so it is worth writing down who deals with a product failure as distinct from an installation failure.

Keep the product name and specification, the manufacturer's installation manual, the paint or coating system used, any bushfire attack level assessment, any asbestos clearance documentation, and the certificate of statutory cover together with the contract. On a wall, defects tend to reveal themselves in the second or third wet season, and that file is what decides whether you have a claim or an argument.