Accessible housing guidelines
On 30 April 2021 a majority of Building Ministers agreed to include minimum accessibility provisions for residential housing and apartments in the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 based on the Livable Housing Design Guidelines (LHDG) silver standards.
As a result of these changes new houses will include simple but crucial accessibility features, including:
- at least one step-free entrance door
- wider internal doors and corridors
- toilet on ground level (or entry level).
These changes will make our homes more accessible and our society more inclusive for people of all abilities. This will make a real difference to the large number of people who struggle to find accessible housing.
Building Ministers directed senior building officials to work with the ABCB to provide advice to support implementation, including any exclusions, as well as appropriate transition timeframes.
Sensible exemptions for the requirements of a step-free entrance door will be included for steep slopes and small lots. The proposed exemptions will also allow traditional styles like the iconic Queenslander to remain a feature of our cities and towns.
We are working with the Australian Building Codes Board, other jurisdictions that will be adopting the accessible housing requirements, and local industry about implementation issues including a transition timeframe, exemptions and technical issues.
We will also support industry through a broad communication strategy for the building industry, local governments and the general public.
This will include pragmatic 'how to' advice to assist industry to transition to the new requirements.
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- Last updated:
- 16 November 2021