New Minimum Accessibility Standards for Housing in the BCA/NCC

It has finally been agreed on the National Building Ministers forum that new minimum accessibility Standards, based on the Silver Performance Level of the Livable Housing Australia (LHA) Design Guidelines, will be incorporated into the new Building Code of Australia (BCA/NCC).

The ministers have also agreed that a voluntary Gold Level technical standard for accessible housing will be developed, which incorporates a higher level of accessibility requirements. It will be left to each State to determine if they wish to adopt Gold instead of Silver.

This is a great outcome for new all home owners across the country, particularly for people as they get older, families with young children, as well as people with both temporary and permanent disabilities. The introduction of this mandatory requirement into the BCA/NCC will provide the basis for more livable and visitable homes for everyone, and support the capacity for people to stay in their own homes longer without having to relocate or incur large renovation costs to upgrade their home. This initiative will also reduce stress on aged care facilities as well as provide further choice for people entering the housing market.