Towards an Australian Access Standard for Housing

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Towards an Australian Access Standard for Housing

• Barry Seeger
• Coalition for Adaptable Housing, SA
• Australian Network for Universal Housing Design
  (ANUHD)

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Coalition for Adaptable Housing, SA

• Alan Moore
• Becky Llewellyn
• Bryan Hughes
• Carolyn Wigg
• Claude Bruno
• Elizabeth Jardine
• Jill Fowler
• Jorge Galleguillos-Pozo
• Maurice Corcoran
• Rodney Barrington
• Trevor Harrison
• Barry Seeger

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Percentages of the Population above Age 65 in
Selected Countries Main source Ministry of
Health and Welfare Japan
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What is Universal Design?

• Universal design is the design of products and
  environments to be used by all people to the
  greatest extent possible without the need for
  adaptation or specialised design.

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Universal Design Advances for All People

• Access to public buildings and facilities
• Transport becoming accessible
• Computer operating systems
• Mobile phones
• ATMs
• Web pages

X Private homes
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All housing needs access
For now and for future generations
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(No Transcript)
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ANUHDs vision of housing design

• meet the housing needs of people of every age and
  ability, so they may participate in their
  community throughout their life
• allow for a diverse range of people to occupy a
  dwelling cost-effectively and equitably over its
  lifetime
• provide for people to visit and stay in others
  homes for an extended period at short notice
• provide a place in which it is safe both to live
  and to work and
• ensure usability and aesthetics are mutually
  compatible and achieve broad market appeal.

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ANUHD supports

• recognition and research of the needs of older
  people, people with a disability or chronic
  illness, and people recovering from illness or
  injury, who experience exclusion, isolation and
  discrimination by present housing design and
  construction practices
• timely, effective and efficient measures to
  address those needs, thus contributing to social
  inclusion, as well as environmental and economic
  sustainability and
• housing design and construction practices which
  meet everyone's needs and avoid building barriers
  that exclude, isolate and discriminate against
  any of the people living and working in or
  visiting a home.

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ANUHD recommends

• There is a continuous accessible path of travel
  from the front boundary or car park and
  throughout the entry level of dwelling.
• The entry is on the main level which has a living
  and food preparation area, an accessible shower,
  hand basin, WC and bedroom.
• Living areas and bedrooms, when furnished, allow
  for adequate circulation space for a person using
  a wheelchair.
• Doorways and corridors are wide enough to allow
  wheelchair users to manoeuvre into and out of
  rooms.
• Door furniture, switches, controls and outlets
  are within reach of and can be used by all.
• There is potential for future adaptation to
  dwellings with two or more levels for vertical
  access by wheelchair users.
• Walls in WC and bathrooms are reinforced to
  enable future fixing of grab rails.

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ANUHD calls for

• access requirements for housing
• in the
• Building Code of Australia (BCA)
• for
• all new and extensively modified housing
• based on
• Universal Design Principles

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Overseas Developments

• USA Proposed Inclusive Home Design Act to cover
  all newly-built single family homes receiving
  federal funds
• UK Part M of the Building Code for all new and
  modified
• housing
• Europe Concept for Accessibility is based on
  universal design principles
• Japan Gold plan requires that all new housing
  should be built to universal design standards.
  Aim by 2015, 40 of housing should support
  ageing-in-place.

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Australia

• A.C.T.
• Victoria
• N.S.W.
• S.A.
• W.A.
• Queensland
• Tasmania
• Local Councils

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What next?

• Research initiated by ANUHD, with support from
  the Australian Building Codes Board and the
  Building Commission of Victoria, will compare the
  consequences in economic and social terms for the
  Australian community in the next 10 years if
  timely action is taken versus maintaining the
  status quo.
• Education, awareness and incentives go part way
  to meeting the need but the experience of other
  western countries shows that regulation is
  inevitable if a timely and consistent response is
  to be achieved. It will be from this research
  project that ANUHD will fine-tune its advocacy
  for the inclusion of access requirements for
  housing in the Building Code of Australia.
• ANUHD is committed to work collaboratively with
  the ABCB towards the goal of housing being more
  accessible and understands that, for this goal to
  be met, the concerns of all stakeholders will
  need to be addressed.

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The Battle for their Hearts and Minds

• Save the River Murray
• Save the Tasmanian old-growth forests
• Energy-efficient housing
• Affordable housing
• Housing that is more accessible
• Ref www.pwd.org.au/anuhd/