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About the new 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.

What this means

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.

Why this matters

Case studies

Implementation

Building Ministers directed senior building officials to work with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to provide advice to support implementation, including any exemptions, 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 ABCB and other jurisdictions complying with the accessible housing requirements, and local industry about implementation including a transition timeframe, exemptions and technical matters.

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.

New Construction Code (NCC) 2022

The ABCB has provided the following guidance around likely dates for the adoption of NCC 2022:

  • 9 May 2022 – preview available on the NCC website (excluding energy efficiency and condensation)
  • end June 2022 – advice to the Building Ministers’ Meeting around transition timeframes for modern homes agenda (i.e. accessible housing and energy efficiency measures)
  • 1 September 2022 – adoption of NCC 2022 by states and territories (subject to transition timeframes as indicated above).

The NCC 2022 preview is now available for review.

For more information about the NCC, visit the ABCB website.

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Last updated: 
15 July 2022