New regulations for disabled

The Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010 (Premises Standards) seek to provide minimum accessibility requirements across a range of buildings in the public sphere. The active shift in standards has been a long time coming, the result of findings from the Access All Areas report by a House of Representatives Standing Committee released in June 2009.

Set to take effect on May 1, 2011, these standards will apply in instances where new work requiring building approval is undertaken on an existing building. The Attorney General’s office suggests that this may involve the installation or improvement of accessible toilets, increased signage for vision impaired people, hotel rooms with greater accessibility and the installation of larger lifts and ramps. “In most circumstances it will also be necessary to provide an accessible path of travel from, and including, the principal public entrance to the new or modified part of the building,” the office states.

Failure to comply will mean building owners are vulnerable to complaints of discrimination. However, this possible threat of legal action appears to be the only existing enforceability mechanism. “It is intended that the Building Code of Australia will be harmonised with the Premises Standards,” the Attorney General’s office attests. “Therefore, compliance will be achieved principally through the normal building certification process.”

Despite the promise of greater social inclusion, local disability activist and wheelchair user, Arne Hanna, is skeptical about the potential effectiveness of the new standards, particularly in light of the ineffectiveness of past legislation. “For years it’s been possible for owners to claim ‘unjustifiable hardship’ for the cost of making changes to their premises in order to accommodate people with disabilities,” says Mr Hanna. “What we actually see is business spending large amounts of money on renovations and, by virtue of various arbitrary legislative definitions of what constitutes major and non-major structural building alteration, being able to cry poor when it comes to putting in a lift, for example.”

Mr Hanna says most Sydney residents are not attuned to the continual debates surrounding public access for those with disabilities, partly due to the fact that disability lobbyists are not strong enough in number to exert pressure on the government. “I don’t think the general population is even aware that there are any standards with regard to access to the built environment,” he states. “These are matters that generally only become important out of necessity.”

The enforceability of the new laws and their ability to engender more equitable and dignified access for disabled users remains to be seen in the coming months. Though the government believes the changes mark a definitive step forward, Mr Hanna isn’t so sure. “I can pretty much guarantee you that they won’t be enough and I definitely won’t be holding my breath waiting for further action from the suits in Canberra.”

Photo: Ali Blogg - Will Arne ever catch a train from Redfern? 

Source: South Sydney Herald May 2010 www.southsydneyherald.com.au