We are commencing a campaign for minimum accessibility requirements to be legislated in the National Construction Code (NCC), and we need your support.
The Australian Building Codes Board has been conducting a review into this issue for the past three years, culminating in a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) that was released for public consultation, ahead of final recommendations to be presented to the Australian Government.
We recently made a submission in response to this consultation, sharing feedback gathered through an online survey of our customers.
The next step in our campaign is to contact Federal MPs and Australia’s largest housing companies, to encourage them to support people with a disability and mandate accessible housing, for the benefit of the entire community.
Researchers Andrew Dalton and Emeritus Professor Rob Carter also prepared a comprehensive economic analysis for The Melbourne Disability Institute, University of Melbourne and the Summer Foundation, which also helped inform our submission.
The Dalton Carter economic report recommended further assessment be undertaken into introducing minimum Silver or Gold levels of accessible housing, in combination with a subsidy program to increase accessible rental housing.
Background
In 2017, the Australian Building Codes Board was directed by the Building Ministers’ Forum and the Council of Australian Governments to undertake a regulatory impact analysis on changing the NCC to include accessibility in housing.
The first stage of this process involved an Options Paper, which was released in 2018 to outline the proposal in more detail, with the opportunity to share feedback on this document and a series of forums held across the country to discuss the issue.
Our Advocacy team also provided feedback on the Options Paper and took part in the Brisbane forum, providing our expertise as well as first-hand insights from our community.
You can click here to read more about the Australian Building Codes Board review.
Show your support
We will soon be publishing letter templates for you to send to your local MP to raise awareness of the issue.
You can also download a template for a letter to send to Australia’s 10 largest housing construction companies – asking them to lead by example when it comes to the provision of accessible housing.
Watch this space for templates and more campaign materials!
Publications
- Our submission to the Australian Building Codes Board regarding accessible housing RIS August 2020
- Melbourne Disability Institute Submission (Dalton Carter economic report) regarding accessible housing RIS August 2020
Stay up to date
We regularly share advocacy updates and opportunities to be involved in The Advocate magazine, as well as on Facebook and through our email newsletter.
If you have any questions, please contact us.