BUILD 2025: Design for livability

Design for liveability

Designing your home for liveability isn’t just sensible: it’s now a requirement under the National Construction Code. The aim of liveable practices is to ensure homes better meet the needs of the community and are accessible to all. Everybody ages, and planning now for reduced mobility later makes sense.

Liveable Housing Australia outlines seven core design elements to meet the basic level of liveability:

1. A safe, continuous and step-free path of travel from the street entrance and parking area to a level dwelling entrance.

2. Internal doors and corridors that facilitate comfortable and unimpeded movement between spaces.

3. A toilet on the ground or entry level that provides easy access.

4. A bathroom that contains a hobless shower recess.

5. Reinforced walls around the toilet, shower and bath to support the safe installation of grabrails at a later date.

6. Stairways are designed to reduce the likelihood of injury and to enable future adaptation.

7. At least one level (step-free) entrance into the dwelling.