....but what about housing? O
ne in 5 adults in Australia currently has a disability. There is also a strong correlation between aging and disability. The Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests that 56% of people aged 65 years and over have a disability. This age bracket currently represents 13.2% of all Australians and is the fastest growing demographic, with an anticipated increase to 30% by the year 2051. Only 5% of people with disabilities live in cared accommodation such as supported hostels and nursing homes, with the overwhelming majority living in households. Extremely limited funding is available to people with disabilities who are noncompensable to provide home modifications relevant to their needs (in Victoria, the Aids and Equipment Program provides $4,400 for home modifications per lifetime). People with disabilities are less likely to be in the labour force (53%) and public housing wait lists for accessible accommodation can be in the order of years. Clearly accessible housing is and will increasingly become a formidable problem well into the future.
Current Requirements
There are currently no requirements in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) for Class 1 and 2 new buildings. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) under section 23 states that it is unlawful to discriminate against people with a disability in relation to access and use of premises that the public is able to enter or use. Therefore providing accessible common areas and pathways up to the entry of each dwelling within a Class 2 building is considered to meet the spirit and intent of the DDA. The DDA however is enforced via a complaint based system (complaints are lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission), which consequently means that the frequency at which even this occurs in new building works is relatively low. Some states and municipalities have policies and legislation which require a proportion of new dwellings to be ‘accessible’ or ‘adaptable’. For instance, South Australia require that 5% of dwellings should be ‘accessible’ where the development includes 20 or more dwellings; the City of Sydney Development Control Plan has a scale for ‘adaptable’ housing numbers required depending on the size of the development; in the ACT 10% must be ‘adaptable’ in a development with 10 or more dwellings; Victoria are to announce a
10 | Award Magazine
‘low cost / no cost’ ‘accessible’ housing policy in the near future. No universal policy or legislation however currently exists for all Australians.
Accessible vs Adaptable
The term accessible housing describes housing with spaces and functions which can be used with relative ease and safety by people with a disability. It should ensure that its occupants are able to engage in all activities without barriers being imposed by the environment. In new works, adherence to AS1428 – Design for access and mobility Parts 1 and 2 would provide what would be considered an ‘accessible’ dwelling. An ‘adaptable’ house is a house which can be easily adapted to individual requirements at minimal additional cost. This should account for a wide range of lifetime needs. To continue with the example for an individual growing older, it may initially mean meeting the needs of the person using a walking aid and having difficulty operating taps and door hardware due to conditions such as arthritis. Into the future, it may mean meeting the needs associated with using a wheelchair as their general mobility and function decreases. Examples of items which contribute to making a home ‘adaptable’ include an absence of steps and rises, wider door openings, circulation in kitchens and bathrooms for ambulant and wheelchair users upon adaption, as well as reinforced walls in toilets and bathrooms to allow for the future provision of grab-rails. The Australian Standard 4299 – Adaptable Housing, outlines the requirements which need to be met in order to provide adaptable housing and is the standard referred to by most municipalities which require adaptable housing to be provided.
The Benefits
‘Accessible’ and ‘Adaptable’ housing allows older persons to live within their communities and stay connected with their existing networks and supports for longer, prolonging the onset of the need for costly relocations, or a move into supported accommodation. Importantly, it also reduces the possibility of becoming socially isolated as a result of a move. ‘Accessible’ and ‘Adaptable’ housing is safer for older people and for people with mobility and sensory difficulties, reducing injuries caused by falls and reducing the social costs of hospitalization, medical procedures and increased levels of care. In Australia 144,000 hospital day beds annually are attributed
Image courtesy of UNKNOWN
Accessibility Corner
Modified entrance with a level-entry door, an enlarged opening and circulation to the latch side. to admissions due to falls. A significant proportion of these are preventable with more appropriate housing. An obvious benefit is creating a housing stock that is more readily adapted or suited to a much larger group of people. It can be inferred that this type of design provides a connection to the concept of ‘Universal Design’, where environments are designed to meet the needs of as many people as possible regardless of ability (e.g. young families negotiating prams; people varying in stature and size; removalists and other contractors; etc.), making them more saleable to a potentially larger market. Extending this type of housing of course also provides much needed access to housing for a large proportion of people with disabilities who are currently failing to secure suitable housing, or are unable to modify their current accommodation due to economic constraints. A more substantial commitment to this type of housing is required by designers, developers, governments and the like in order to realise the immense benefits possible, and sustain the positive momentum gained in previous years due to the diligence of a small amount of municipalities. A By George Xinos, Patricia Flores Blythe-Sanderson Group