5990 - MANDATORY MINIMUM ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

(1) Why did the Government oppose the inclusion of mandatory minimum accessibility standards for new residential construction work in the National Construction Code?

(2) Does the decision to oppose the inclusion of minimum standards fail people who live with disability, older people and people in the community who live with chronic illness or injury?

(3) Did the Minister consult the former Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services before making this decision?

(1) The Regulatory Impact Analysis undertaken by the Centre for International Economics (CIE) on behalf of the Australian Building Codes Board indicated the inclusion of minimum accessibility requirements for all new housing in the National Construction Code would come at a significant net cost to the community. It will also have negative impacts on housing affordability and the construction sector. Other more flexible and balanced approaches to increase the supply of accessible housing, including the non-regulatory options proposed in the analysis were not fully explored.

(2) The Government has already introduced initiatives to improve the supply of accessible public and private housing as part of our commitment to the National Disability Strategy. These include policies to ensure that all new social and affordable housing built by government is constructed to silver accessibility standards. There are also policies requiring at least 20% of all medium to high density dwellings developed by Landcom to meet or exceed the silver accessibility standard. The NSW Apartment Design Guide also encourages 20% of apartments within new residential apartment buildings to achieve a minimum silver level. The Government will continue to monitor the NCC proposals as they are progressed and further investigate the potential implementation of new initiatives outside of the NCC framework. This approach would provide NSW with the balance and flexibility to consider options to increase the supply of accessible housing, while minimising any burdens on housing affordability.

(3) The Government’s position was subject to cabinet determination.