Building Better Homes

Queenslanders will be worse off if politicians buckle under construction industry pressure to water down or abandon commitments to make new housing accessible for people for disability and older Australians, the Building Better Homes campaign said today. As the state election looms, the Building Better Homes campaign is calling on the Miles Government and the Liberal National Party to maintain and strengthen the Liveable Design Standards. Read the full media release from the Building Better Homes campaign here: https://buff.ly/408KCXW

Anthropology student Alessa Dumbrill loves going out but says it can be difficult to find an accessible venue. Alessa lives with muscular dystrophy, a degenerative condition, and uses a wheelchair. In South Australia, where Alessa lives, 60% of the 72 bars and nightclubs within the Adelaide CBD that are listed on Google are not wheelchair accessible or do not have that information freely available. The SA state government introduced a 4 year disability inclusion plan in 2019. Part of the plan was to introduce universal design across the state that ensured built environments and public spaces were accessible to everyone. "Ideally, all buildings would be accessible and usable and safe for all people with disability," said SA's Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook, "(but) there are challenges with the legacy buildings that we have." Accessible design is crucial for meeting the needs of all Australians with mobility impairments, including people with disability and older people. We must do better.

We recently made a submission to the Australian Government’s consultation on the Review of Australia’s Disability Strategy. This submission was endorsed by 30 of our partners in the Building Better Homes campaign. The submission highlights the importance of housing with livable and accessible design for Australians with mobility impairments, including people with disability and older Australians. The submission calls for: ✅ an Action Plan in Australia’s Disability Strategy to ensure all states and territories implement the National Construction Code Livable Housing Design Standards immediately, and; ✅ a requirement that all states and territories report regularly on the implementation of the accessibility standards in the National Construction Code. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of the review and working to progress better housing and living options for people with disability.

Thank you to the large group of people with disability and supporters who joined us this week to rally outside NSW Parliament. Together, we called on the NSW government to end housing discrimination and adopt measures to ensure that new housing developments in NSW are accessibly built. Lived experience advocate, Julie Charlton, said of the day: “The government has ignored the calls of people with disability for too long, so now we’re taking our call straight to Parliament House.” The NSW government is currently one of just two states refusing to adopt the design standards which are mandated in the National Construction Code. The standards require developers to include basic accessibility requirements, like a step-free shower and level entry to the home. The group of people with disability including wheelchair users attempted to enter Parliament House to watch Question Time. They were informed that they were unable to enter as the Parliamentary Gallery in the lower house cannot accommodate multiple wheelchair users. “We’re not asking for much… just to make sure we get our wheels in the front door.” said Northern Beaches resident Declan Lee, who has cerebral palsy. Learn more about the campaign here: https://buff.ly/3WnLci6 Physical Disability Council of NSW People with Disability Australia (PWDA)

People with disability rallied outside NSW Parliament today, calling on the NSW government to end housing discrimination and adopt measures to ensure that new housing developments in NSW are accessible. “We’re not asking for much… just to make sure we get our wheels in the front door.” said Northern Beaches resident Declan, who has cerebral palsy. The group of people with disability including wheelchair users attempted to enter Parliament House to watch Question Time. They were informed that they were unable to enter as the Parliamentary Gallery in the lower house cannot accommodate multiple wheelchair users. It is a disappointing indictment that not only are the majority of houses being built in NSW inaccessible for people with disability and older people, but Parliament House itself is also inaccessible for people with disability. The NSW government is currently one of just two states refusing to adopt the design standards which are mandated in the National Construction Code. The standards require developers to include basic accessibility requirements, like a step-free shower and level entry to the home. Learn more about the campaign here: https://buff.ly/3WnLci6

It was fantastic to see a large group of people with disability rally outside NSW Parliament today, calling on the NSW government to end housing discrimination and adopt measures to ensure that new housing developments in NSW are accessibly built. Building Better Homes Campaign spokesperson and lived experience advocate, Julie Charlton, said the government’s refusal to adopt basic accessibility standards for new housing – which was a key recommendation of the Disability Royal Commission – shows a complete disregard for people with disability, older Australians, and others who require accessible housing. “It’s not difficult or expensive to implement these standards but it would change the lives of people with disability and older Australians." Ms Charlton said. “The government has ignored the calls of people with disability for too long, so now we’re taking our call straight to Parliament House.” Find out more about the campaign here: https://buff.ly/3WnLci6

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) today reported on the Building Better Homes Campaign rally to call on the NSW Government to ensure new residential dwellings in the state meet mandatory "Silver Level" Livable Housing Design standards. "We deserve to have our government uphold our basic human rights as those who deserve housing," Julie Charlton told the ABC. Julie is a wheelchair user who was born with spina bifida, and is attending the rally in Sydney today. In 2022, the National Construction Code introduced mandatory standards in accessibility. NSW is one of only two jurisdictions that has refused to sign up. https://buff.ly/3LTzNkc #buildingbetterhomes #NationalConstructionCode #accessiblehousing #disability #peoplewithdisability

C'mon NSW. It’s time to step up and end discriminatory housing. The Building Better Homes campaign invites you to sign an open letter to NSW state political leaders calling on them to end the housing discrimination against people with disability and older Australians. The letter will be delivered during a day of action in Sydney's CBD at 10.30am on Tuesday 6 August. We'll meet at the top of Martin Place, opposite Parliament House. People with disability, older people, organisations, advocates and allies are invited to join us and say "enough is enough". We’ll gather outside to hear from a few key speakers, and hand our open letter to NSW political leaders. The NSW government's refusal to sign up to design standards means people with disability and older Australians are forced into disability group homes and aged care instead of a home to call their own. Sign the open letter, and find out more about the day of action here: https://buff.ly/3WnLci6

“It just shows they don't give a toss about those of us with a disability”. Stuart is a News South Wales resident with an acquired disability. We asked him how he feels about NSW being one of only two Australian states refusing to sign up to design standards that require new housing developments to offer basic accessibility. "I find it abhorrent that New South Wales is one of the only ones out of all of the states and territories in Australia to not sign on to the accessibility standards in the National Construction Code”. “All we're asking for is to be able to live life as a normal person, to have a home that's accessible." Stuart has joined the Building Better Homes campaign to stop housing discrimination in New South Wales. The campaign is now asking people to sign an open letter to NSW state political leaders calling on them to end the housing discrimination against people with disability and older Australians. The letter will be delivered during a day of action in the NSW Parliament on Tuesday 6 August. Sign the open letter, and find out more about the day of action here: https://buff.ly/3WnLci6

Yesterday the NSW and WA Governments missed an important opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to accessible housing for people with disability. We are deeply disappointed that the NSW and WA governments did not accept the Disability Royal Commission recommendation to adopt the Livable Housing Design Standards in the National Construction Code. All other states and territories have signed up to the design standards that simply require developers to build a step-free shower and level entry to the house. As Building Better Homes Campaign supporter, Declan would say: “we’re not asking for much…just to make sure we get our wheels in the front door." You can read the government's response here: https://buff.ly/3LNDvMe