From next year, minimum accessibility standards to Silver level will be regulated across all new housing builds under the National Construction Code. Agreement was reached with support from housing ministers in Victoria, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the ACT.
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) will publish a voluntary Gold Standard for accessible housing, which states and territories can choose to apply across their own jurisdictions.
A number of organisations were instrumental in the campaign for change including the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design (ANUHD) the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PCDN), the Melbourne Disability Institute and the Centre for Universal Design Australia (CUDA).
PDCN CEO, Serena Ovens said “it is a game-changer for people with physical disability. “We know that many of our members have struggled to find accessible housing in the private market. Members have had to build to purpose, invest in expensive retrofits, or spend long hours inspecting rental properties to find semi-suitable, often partially accessible homes to live in,” she said.
“While the decision to mandate to Silver level falls short of our aim for Gold, it is tempered by the fact that states and territory will have discretion in terms of how the new provisions will be applied across their jurisdictions, this decision remains significant and has been over a decade in the making.”
PDCN will continue to pressure Minister Kevin Anderson’s office to implement the changes and push for Gold Level Builds at State and Local Council levels.
Dr Margaret Ward from the ANUHD will be one of the speakers at the Universal Design Conference on May 17-18, who will update the situation as it unfolds.