Understanding Accessible Housing & Liveable Housing Design Standards
What these changes mean for you and your new home…
Queensland is progressing with historic reforms that respect the rights of everyone to a home that is safe, adaptable and meets their needs, in an effort to create more accessible housing for the Queensland population.
What is Accessible Housing?
Accessible housing is based on accessibility requirements, and is housing that is designed and constructed to be more accessible for everyone, including elderly people, people with disabilities, families with younger children and people with temporary mobility injuries.
Positive Changes to Minimum Accessibility Standards
In 2022, the Australian Building Codes Board published new minimum accessibility requirements for all new houses and units, with a Liveable Housing Design Standard. The phase of these new accessibility design standards commenced on 1 October 2023 and will make a positive change to the way we design and build houses going forward into the future.
These important changes will allow people to remain in their homes longer and closer to their family and friends as they age, without the need for costly adaptions. As well as ensuring that people of all abilities have dignified and equitable access into their homes.
What does this mean for my Home?
The minimum accessibility standards for new houses, units and select renovations will include these simple accessibility features:
At least one-step free entry
Wider internal doors and corridors
One step-free access into a bathroom and shower
An accessible toilet
Reinforcing in bathroom and toilet walls to allow handrails to be installed later
These achieveable changes will make homes more accessible and our society more inclusive for people of all abilities.
Who does this apply to?
At this stage these accessibility requirements apply to new homes, units and select renovations. The average cost to ensure a new home complies with the Liveable Housing Design Standards can be as little as one percent of the average building cost.
Not only is it possible to build a compliant new home at a reasonable cost, but doing so increases the stock of houses that can improve a person’s economic and social participation in society by making their life easier.
Why these Standards Matter?
A lack of accessible housing comes at a significant cost in the form of:
Unnecessarily expensive home modifications to make homes more accessible.
Longer stays in hospital and transition care (if applicable), if discharge is delayed due to inadequate accessibility features in the home.
The need for relocation to find more suitable accomodation.
An inability for friends and family to visit each other due to inadequate accessibility features in the home.
These accessibility design standards will meet the changing needs of Queenslanders and help make accessible housing more common, inclusive and standardised across Queensland.
Who can help to ensure my New Home, Unit or Renovation is compliant?
A great team of educated building designers/architects can help you create a new home that is stylish, meets your needs and is compliant.
At Oztown Constructions, we are familiar with helping clients navigate these new regulations to help ensure our client’s homes are compliant and constructed at a high quality, while doing our part to help make a positive difference to the future of accessible housing.
If you would like to learn more about these new building standards and how they can be seamlessly incorporated into your home, contact our experienced team.
Help create a positive impact on the way we design and build houses in the future.
Let’s build a future where accessibility is the norm, not the exception