Disability Access Audits

Access Check Disability Access Audit Software

Our Access Audit service using Access Check can provide an examination of a building and its facilities or the external built environment against a pre-determined criterion to assess the ease of use by people with a disability. Guidelines are from the suite Australian Standards AS1428, Building Control Act and the Disability Discrimination Act.

What Is Access Check?

Access Check is an industry-leading audit and assessment application that is cloud-based and can be run on Windows or Mac computers but can also be run on Android and ios tablets for onsite access audits. This has been developed specifically for Disability Access compliance and includes modules that can be used on all parts of the built environment.

  • Commercial, retail, healthcare, aged care, hospitality, entertainment and industrial projects
  • Residential developments including mixed-use developments.
  • Specialist Disability Accommodation assessments
  • Changing Places
  • Livable Housing Australia assessments
  • External built environments
  • Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport

What Is Covered In An Access Audit?

Disability Access Audit Onsite SoftwareAll DDA access audits undertaken by Equal Access pay great attention to ‘Reasonable Adjustment’. Only an Access Auditor can decide what is reasonable or unreasonable for you to be expected to undertake. Equal Access believes that this audit approach will save you money in the long run by recommending what is reasonably expected of you to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

The reasons for carrying out an Access Audit are to help meet the legislative requirements of the DDA 1992 and improve disability access and egress and in turn increase your custom and turnover, as well as help, protect you from claims of disability discrimination. It is necessary to carry out an Access Audit to establish what action is needed.

Access Audits undertaken with Access CheckA written DDA Access Audit report will then be produced. This access report will detail ways in which non-compliance exists and recommend a course of action. Photographs within your report will identify areas on non-compliance. Priorities will be given to work recommended. Some items (Especially Occupational Health & Safety issues) may need to be carried out immediately whereas other items could be added to the regular maintenance program of your building. Some larger items may need to be included in a feasibility study undertaken by your organisation.

Equal Access is proud of its level of customer service. We offer telephone assistance to assist you while work is being planned and undertaken. We have a very high level of understanding of many disabilities. Hearing, vision and other sensory impairments along with learning difficulties, ambulant disabilities and physical disabilities must all be considered on equal terms.

Identified Issues

All identified issues are prioritised as follows;

  • Safety risk: The issue presents a risk of injury by a building user
  • Complaint risk: The issue presents a risk of a complaint by a building user
  • Best practice: The issue should be considered for rectification to improve accessibility on the basis of a best practice improvement.

The list below outlines areas which are likely to be audited during our surveys:

  • External Environments and Approach – this may include access from site boundaries, vehicle set down, parking facilities, pedestrian routes, public spaces and pathways. Features are likely to include wayfinding, surfaces, ramps, steps, handrails, external lifts, lighting, general safety.
  • Doors – vision panels/glazing manifestation, entrance matting, lobby sizes, entry control/security systems, automatic/manual operating systems, safety controls, thresholds, clear widths, closer strengths and door furniture.
  • Horizontal Circulation – corridor widths, circulation areas, obstructions, clearance widths , TGSI’s and hazards.
  • Vertical Circulation – platform lifts, stair lifts, passenger lifts, control locations, stairs, step nosings, ramps, handrail profiles and pitch heights.
  • Facilities – reception desks, information, communications, seating, refreshment and vending areas, sports and leisure facilities, classrooms, interactive displays, showcases
  • Sanitary Facilities – accessible and general WC’s, sizes, location, fittings, dispensers, doors, alerting systems, shower rooms and wash facilities
  • Means of Escape – refuge spaces, accessible escape routes, evacuation arrangements, alarm call points, visual, acoustic and tactile alerting systems
  • Lighting – glare control, switch positions and assistive aids
  • Acoustics – general quality, reverberation, assistive equipment
  • Finishes – walls, ceilings, decor, light reflectance, contrast, absorbency, floor finishes, slip resistance, visual/tactile properties
  • Fixtures – display of notices, clarity and simplicity of information to meet the widest possible range of diverse user needs, collections and exhibits
  • Wayfinding – signage, pathways, tactile ground surface indicators, tactile/audio maps
  • Information/communication – telephones, videophones, inductive couplers, textphones, sound enhancement systems, induction loops, infrared, radio, TV/video, PA systems

Key Access Audits Completed

  • Mindil Beach Resort & Casino Darwin
  • Melbourne Concert Hall, State Theater & Myer Music Bowl
  • National Gallery Australia (Canberra)
  • Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) Canberra
  • National Museum of Australia
  • Court Services Victoria – Supreme Court, Melbourne, Magistrates Court Melbourne and Victorian Regional Courthouses.
  • Centrelink Offices – Multiple locations, Australia wide
  • Jones Lang LaSalle – DHS sites in Victoria, NSW and TAS
  • Australian Embassy Tokyo Japan – DFAT
  • Melbourne Water – 22 water & sewerage office/processing facilities.
  • City of Greater Dandenong – 180 community buildings
  • Shire of Nillumbik –108 community buildings
  • City of Kingston – 76 community buildings
  • City of Port Hedland –61 community buildings
  • Hume City Council – 44 community buildings
  • Peppers Resort Airlie Beach Resort
  • RMIT University Access audits – City, Carlton, Bundoora & Brunswick campuses
  • Deakin University Access audit program of 98 buildings at 4 campuses
  • Charles Darwin University – Casuarina and Palmerston campuses.

Our Blogs

A New Inclusive ‘Gender Neutral’ Toilet Sign

  • July 1, 2024
  • Cynthia Ces

A question we have received a number of times within our practice is the provision of and identification of ...

read more

Why ‘Wave to Open’ and ‘Wave to Lock’ Discriminate against People with Disability

  • May 2, 2024
  • Bruce Bromley

We are now regularly seeing the installation of ‘Wave to Open and Wave to Lock’ buttons used on automated...

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Raised Tactile And Braille Signage

  • November 10, 2023
  • Bruce Bromley

We are often asked to assess signage against the requirements of the Disability Access to Premise...

read more

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