There has been no rectification work on the government buildings nearly three years after the London fire that claimed 72 lives when a kitchen fire ignited the tower's combustible exterior cladding in June, 2017 and destroyed the building.

Another 10 buildings in the Newcastle local government area, including a registered club, were classified high risk in a list of more than 40 buildings referred to Newcastle City Council by Fire & Rescue NSW in September that may require rectification work because of combustible cladding.

The high risk classification for Newcastle Courthouse is despite a Department of Justice audit of all NSW court buildings in 2018 after the Grenfell tragedy, and laboratory testing of Newcastle Courthouse wall cladding in 2019, which "concluded the cladding was safe and no action was required", a Department of Communities and Justice spokesperson said on Monday.

It has a current annual fire safety statement and "all essential fire systems are maintained in accordance with legislative requirements", the spokesperson said.

The high risk classification for the university's New Space building is despite a 2018 independent review, in response to a NSW Government request for a fire safety audit, that found the building "posed no significant threat that would increase fire safety issues, cause the spread of fire or prevent the safe egress of persons from the buildings in the event of a fire".

The review also made "no recommendations to improve fire safety of the building as it is considered there are no discernible fire safety risks associated with the external cladding of the building".

University director of infrastructure and facilities services, Brian Jones, said the Department of Planning in January requested more information about installation of the material.

"We are currently undertaking that review," Mr Jones said.

The university did not believe the Australian Technology Centre at the Callaghan campus was in the high risk category because it is "not clad in aluminium composite", Mr Jones said.

Newcastle Council was strongly criticised after a building regulation parliamentary inquiry hearing in Newcastle on Thursday where council representatives said it was yet to write to building owners about the Fire & Rescue NSW risk assessments, and the possible need for work to remove combustible cladding.

But Lake Macquarie and Central Coast Councils agreed with Newcastle Council that the NSW system leaves council certifiers, rather than safety engineers, to settle possible disputes about recommended rectification works.

"The State Government is giving you the baby and asks you to take care of it. That is the current process, is it not?" inquiry chair and NSW Greens MP and barrister David Shoebridge said to the councils at the hearing.

The inquiry heard evidence from a Newcastle apartment owner whose owners corporation is already facing $1.6 million in works to repair long-standing defects, and was recently advised rectification work is also needed because of flammable cladding.

A building consultant engaged by the owners corporation told the inquiry the cladding was tested and "it is a pretty nasty flammable material in there" that was used for insulation but is "just a foam esky we are just nailing to the side of the building and those things can tend to burn".

"The problem we have got is dealing with it now," the consultant told the inquiry.

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said the NSW Government's response "lacked detail or clarity and amount to an online register for property owners to self-report, without any specific process for confirming the accuracy of the reporting".

"This frustrating situation has forced City of Newcastle to audit the NSW Government's own findings to determine what buildings are in fact high risk. The city notes that other state jurisdictions have taken a different approach to cladding issues, with the Victorian Government most notably implementing a $550 million rectification program," the spokesperson said.

The government's online cladding portal closed in February, 2019 but the council was not given access to information until September. It has engaged a fire safety officer to address the issue.

The council said Fire & Rescue NSW's most recent list in early February identified 13 properties as high risk, including Newcastle Courthouse and the two University of Newcastle buildings "over which we have no jurisdiction", but which the council must contact.

"The criteria used for identifying properties as high risk has not been communicated to the city, nor has the reason for removal of three properties that were previously categorised as high risk," the spokesperson said.

"City of Newcastle insists on ensuring risks are correctly categorised before proceeding with any communication to the owners of properties nominated by Fire & Rescue NSW."

A spokesperson for Fire & Rescue NSW said it had inspected all buildings identified to it as potentially having combustible cladding, including those on the NSW Government cladding register.

"Of these, a number were identified as being potentially of higher risk and further assessment was required. A building was considered to be of potentially higher risk where the type, amount, arrangement and location of cladding provided to the facade of the building would permit the spread of fire, posing a higher risk to occupant and firefighter safety," the spokesperson said.

"Firefighters inspected each building under the assumption the cladding applied to the building was of the most combustible kind. Fire & Rescue NSW does not determine the type or combustibility of the cladding product present, which typically requires a fire engineering risk assessment, destructive testing and/or materials analysis."

The spokesperson said referrals to council were of "those buildings it determined to be of potentially higher risk due to the presence of cladding".

"This referral to council was to ensure identified buildings were further assessed to determine the actual risk posed by the cladding on the building and, if the cladding did pose a risk, for that risk to be mitigated."

Mr Shoebridge said it had been almost three years since the Grenfell fire disaster "and there are still public buildings with high risk cladding and no funding to fix the crisis".

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said the NSW Government's response to the flammable cladding crisis had been "absolutely woeful".

"This is not an issue that can be pushed down the 'to do' list. This is people's safety and to see so little action is scary," Mr Crakanthorp said.

"The minister needs to show some leadership and provide the resources to help our local bodies deal with this."