Disability Action Southeast (an action group of the Disability Resources Centre)

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Disability Action Southeast (an action group of
the Disability Resources Centre) Victorian
Council of Social ServiceAccessible Housing
ForumWhat is the problem?Bernd Bartl

• City of Casey Council Chambers, Magid Drive,
  Narre Warren
• Monday, 18 May 2009
• 11.15am 11.35pm
• ? Bernd Bartl 2009

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What is the problem?

1. The history
2. The standards
3. The problem
4. Where to?

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Houses are built for human habitationBuildings
are built for human occupationIf houses and
buildings are not fit for some peoples
habitation or occupation then, either a) the
people who they do not fit are not human orb)
how houses and buildings are designed and built
must change to make them fit for everyone (and
existing buildings must be altered)
Accessibility-for-all a matter of logic
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Almost everyone will suffer a mobility or
vision impairment at some time in their life
If not with an impairment oneself, friends,
relatives and neighbours will have If no one
in a household presently has an impairment,
chances are that future households in the
dwelling will We are an ageing population and
incidence of impairment increases with age
Upfront design and construction of
accessibility-for-all is low- or no-cost, whereas
retrofitting is expensive (often prohibitively so)
Accessibility-for-all a matter of sanity
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Productivity Commission (2004) Reform of Building
Regulation, Research Report

• Governments sometimes intervene in the market
  for the social purpose of ensuring certain
  minimum standards of accommodation (including
  access to buildings) for all. It is most unlikely
  that certain building qualities, such as access
  for people with disabilities, would be delivered
  widely in the absence of government
  intervention. (17 November 2004 Overview,
  p.XXIII)

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The history
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International

• Sweden
• Introduced housing visitability building
  regulation in 1976.
• Britain (England and Wales)
• Introduced housing visitability building
  regulations (Part M) in 1999.
• Republic of Ireland in 2000.
• Greater London Authority increased requirements
  (April 2004).

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The Law and Persons with Handicaps, South
Australian Bright Report Justice Charles Hart
Bright, Chairman

• If AS Australian Standard1428 were altered to
  include basic design rules for private residences
  as well as public buildings, it would be a
  relatively simple matter to incorporate these
  requirements into the Building Regulations.
• (1978, p.173)

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RESCODE

• ADVISORY COMMITTEE PANEL REPORT TO MINISTER
• submitted to Minister 20 December, 2000 publicly
  released 15 January 2001)
• The ground floor of dwellings should be
  accessible or able to be easily made accessible
  to people with limited mobility.

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Planning and Environment Act 1987

• Clause 55.02-3 Dwelling diversity objective
• To encourage a range of dwellings sizes and types
  in developments of ten or more dwellings.
• Standard B3
• Developments of ten or more dwellings should
  provide a range of dwelling sizes and types,
  including
• -Dwellings with a different number of
  bedrooms.
• -At least one dwelling that contains a
  kitchen , bath or shower and a toilet and wash
  basin at ground floor level.
• (55.02 Neighbourhood Character And
  Infrastructure)
• Clause 55.05-1 Accessibility objective
• To encourage the consideration of the needs of
  people with limited mobility in the design of
  developments.
• Standard B25
• The dwelling entries of the ground floor of
  dwellings and residential buildings should be
  accessible or able to be easily made accessible
  to people with limited mobility.
• (55.05 On-Site Amenity And Facilities)

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ABEWG

• Accessible Built Environment Working Group
  (ABEWG), State government access advisory group
  convened by the Building Commission, established
  June 2001. Workplan of 18 December 2001 ABEWG
  meeting includes
• Release RIS Regulatory Impact Statement on
  housing accessibility standard for public
  consultation August - September 2002

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Local Planning Scheme Amendments

• Manningham Planning Scheme Amendment C33 Panel
  Report, 2 October 2003
• Melbourne Planning Scheme Amendment C60(i) Panel
  Report, 14 October 2003
• Moonee Valley Planning Scheme Amendment C50 Panel
  Report, June 2004
•  
• Yarra Planning Scheme Amendment C66
• Panel Report, October 2004
• Note incorporate both housing and public and
  commercial premises access provisions

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Melbourne 2030

• Melbourne 2030 Implementation Reference Group
  Priority Implementation Issues (26 March 2004)
• Key issues requiring ongoing management by
  state government
• Introduce requirement for new homes and
  renovations to meet visitable standards to
  enhance access for the elderly and people with
  disabilities. (p. 49 of 53)

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OSISDC

• Outer Suburban/ Interface Services Development
  Committee
• Inquiry into Sustainable Urban Design for New
  Communities in Outer Suburban Areas,
• reported 5 October 2004
• The Committee recommends that inclusive and
  accessible design be given serious consideration
  by the Victorian Government to bring Victorian
  standards in line with UK standards, in relation
  to visitability. (Recommendation 6)
•  
• The Committee recommends the Victorian
  Government investigate the economic and social
  viability of incorporating Australian Standard
  4299 Adaptable Housing (1995) into the
  Victorian Building Regulations as a requirement
  for all new housing in Victoria. (Recommendatio
  n 7)

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Responses to OSISDC Inquiry

• Victorian Government Response (16 May 2005)
• Government response accepted recommendations in
  principle but made any real systemic regulatory
  change dependent on accessible housing research
  jointly funded by the Australian Building Codes
  Board (ABCB) and the Building Commission. This
  research received November 2005 but not made
  public.
• Victorian Opposition
• Shadow Planning Spokesperson, Ted Baillieu
  called on the current minister to take this
  opportunity to take a lead. . . . He has a chance
  here to take a step forward and respond to the
  OSISDC report, and to indicate to those
  communities which have been pushing this issue
  for some time that there is a way forward.
  (Legislative Assembly, 23 March 2005)

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Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission
(VCEC)Housing regulation inquiry

• Issues paper (December 2004)
• DACV / VCOSS forum (February 2005)
• Draft report (July 2005)
• Final report (October 2005)
• Government response (April 2006)

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A Fairer Victoria Progress and Next Steps

• . . currently considering the report of the
  Accessible Housing Taskforce. We will improve
  accessibility of housing for people with a
  disability by working with housing industry
  organisations to develop
• a best practice industry guideline for
  developers and builders on how to incorporate
  accessible and adaptable
• features into dwellings and,
• practice notes that contain technical
  specifications on accessibility and adaptability.
• We will also develop a web-based directory to
  provide a one-stop resource of information on
  housing accessibility and adaptability for the
  community and housing industry. We will also
  educate consumers about the benefits of
  accessible and adaptable housing. (June 2006)

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Disability Advisory Council of Victoria /12
organisations

• Accessible Place, Accessible State 2020
• 12 organisations, including Equal Opportunity
  Commission Victoria, Paraquad, Blind Citizens
  Australia and VCOSS, make 30 recommendations
  including
• Statewide visitable housing building regulation
  in 06/07 (R15)
• Approval of Melbourne City Council (MCC) planning
  access provisions as a pilot and alignment of
  other local government provisions with MCC ones
  (Rec.s 17 16)
• Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) national
  Access to Premises standard to come into effect
  May 2006 (level of provision as specified in the
  February 2004 draft version in full) (Rec 24)
• (Recommended Policy Outline for the Victorian
  Government, DACV, December 2005)

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Accessible Housing Taskforce

• Established August 2005, to report on how need
  for accessible housing can best be met in
  Victoria
• Reported to Planning Minister beginning May
  2006
• the key recommendation, that
• future medium-density multi-unit development up
  to 3 storeys and high-density higher than 3
  storeys housing should have an accessible path
  to a level entry wider doorways and corridors
  noggings and/or reinforced bathroom and toilet
  walls and an accessible toilet with an outward
  swinging door. (The Age, 11 June, p.2)
• Part of A Fairer Victoria government social
  justice agenda

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Victorian ALP 2006 election

• a reelected Bracks Labor Government will
  establish a state-wide Accessible
• Housing Program, delivering the following
  initiatives
• An industry led Homes for Life guide to assist
  industry and consumers in the delivery of
  accessible housing.
• A campaign to promote greater understanding and
  awareness of accessible building issues within
  the construction industry and the broader
  community. This campaign will be delivered by
  utilising the education and promotional resources
  of the Building Commission, Human Services,
  VicUrban, the Equal Opportunity Commission and
• the Office for Disability.
• Establish a simple and low cost access rating
  system to indicate how accessible and adaptable a
  dwelling is to potential tenants and purchasers.
• Taking account of the recommendations of the
  Accessible Housing Taskforce, where local
  governments propose amendments to their local
  planning schemes in relation to housing
  accessibility, Labor will ensure that a
  consistent approach is achieved by specifying
  that a suite of standard low cost/no cost
  measures are included in the
• amendments. Such measures will apply only to the
  ground floor of new medium density developments
  and one out of five units in new high density
  apartment blocks.
• (Addressing Disadvantage Investing in a fairer
  Victoria, 20 November 2006 Planning in
  partnership with local communities, 22 November
  2006)

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Victorian Universal Housing Alliance (VUHA)Homes
for all of us, all the time

• Universal Housing, Universal Benefits
• (A VCOSS discussion paper on universal housing
  regulation in Victoria)
• Tuesday, 29 July 2008

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Local Planning Scheme Amendments(continued)

• Melbourne Planning Scheme Amendment C60(i B)
• Yarra Planning Scheme Amendment C84
• Port Philip Planning Scheme Amendment C62
• Moonee Valley Planning Scheme Amendment C90
•  
• Note (1) all Municipal Strategic Statements
  (MSS)
• (2) incorporate both housing and
  public and commercial premises access provisions

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PRACTICAL AND ACCESSIBLE HOMES FOR ALL VICTORIANS
?

• (1) The Build for Life awareness campaign will
  inform builders, designers and consumers of
  accessible design elements to be built into new
  homes.
• (2) A draft regulatory impact statement will be
  released for public comment later in the year and
  will investigate implementing minimum mandatory
  requirements four accessible features into
  Victorias building regulations    A clear
  path from the street to a level entry    Wider
  doorways and halls    A toilet suitable for
  people with limited mobility on entry level
  and    Reinforced bathroom walls so grab rails
  can be fitted inexpensively if they are needed in
  the future.
• (Planning Minister Justin Madden and Community
  Services and Senior Victorians Minister Lisa
  Neville, Tuesday, 14 April 2009)

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Build for lifeBriefing Paper on Accessible
Housing

• Features foreshadowed in the RIS would cost
  around 870 for an average home, according to
  research by the State government and leading
  quantity surveyor Davis Langdon.
• Research shows renovating a typical home to add
  the access features foreshadowed in the
  regulation would cost around 19,400 22 times
  the cost of including them upfront.

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The standards
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Australian Standards(current)

• AS 1428 Part 1 (mobility)
• AS 1428 Part 2 (enhanced mobility)
• AS 4299, Categories A, B and C
• (adaptable housing)

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Inclusive housing standards

• None in national building regulations (Building
  Code of Australia)
• South Australia and ACT have requirements for
  percentage of new housing

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Build for life (proposed dimensions)

• Continuous path of travel (from street to
• a level entry) Specification needed all
  entries
• (a) Wider door (800mm or 850mm clear width)
• 850mm (only) acceptable
• (b) Wider corridors (900mm)
• 1000mm acceptable, 1200 preferable
• Toilet at entry level (900mm wide)
• 1000 X 2000mm acceptable, demountable non-load
• bearing wall
• Reinforced bathroom wall, nogging (small area)
• Need large area

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Build for life (proposed percentage and missing
essential element)

• 1 in 5 (20) of lifted buildings
• Only exempt non-shared entrance
• buildings from having lift, but require
• adaptability for lift (load-bearing
• wall(s) and space for installing lift)
• Any percentage of lifted building is
• stupid and unacceptable
• No requirement for type of shower
• Hobless shower (no step)

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Planning

• Change to State Planning Framework to require
  accessibility planning from very beginning
• Local planning amendments (can set higher
  standards)

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The problem
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Money?One of the richest populations on a planet
which has only dreamt of this level of wealth in
the past.

• Ignorance?
• More reports, recommendations, working groups,
  taskforces, discussion and debate than rain drops
  in a summer shower

Lack of expertise? We can get people on the moon,
and making housing accessible does not seem
intrinsically more technically difficult
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So, maybe it is

• a lack of generositya lack of will
• a lack of vision
• a reluctance to change
• a denial of our need to connect with others
• a denial of our human vulnerability
• Addressing these lacks, reluctance and denials
  will enrich everyone.

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Where to?
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Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission
(VCEC) Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) inquiry

• draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS)
  improvement

• Exemptions and Exceptions to the Equal
  Opportunity Act (1995) review
• Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC)
  Victorian Parliament
• www.parliament.vic.gov.au 10 July 2009

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Lobby, advocate

• Publicize, protest, rage

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If not now, when?If not us, who?
Whose homes? Answer for everyone?
After Primo Levi and Hillel Hillel in The Sayings
of the Fathers "If am not for myself, who will
be for me? If am for myself alone, what am I? If
not now, when?"
? Bernd Bartl 2009