New Disability Access Standards

December 19, 2009
Bruce Bromley

We have just received copies of the following updated Australian Standards relating to disability.
Released December 2009

AS 1428.1—2009 Design for access and mobility
Part 1: General requirements for access—New building work
AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009 Design for access and mobility
Part 4.1: Means to assist the orientation of people with vision impairment— Tactile ground surface indicators
AS/NZS 2890.6:2009 Parking facilities
Part 6: Off-street parking for people with disabilities

Expected February 2009-12-09

AS 3745—2009 Planning for Emergencies in Facilities

How do these new standards affect us?

The recently released AS2890.6 (2009), AS1428.1 (2009) and AS1428.4 (2009)will not be referenced under the BCA until 2011, as they are associated with the Premises Standard. They are still waiting for final confirmation and release of this document; all have missed the Regulation Impact Statements for BCA 2010.
As they have not been referenced in the BCA they are not law however they should be viewed as “Current Best Practice”. This however may create a problem for Building Surveyors, they may require alternative solutions to the current deemed-to-satisfy provisions of the BCA.As Access Consultants it is our opinion these new standards are the intention for “compliance” with the DDA and should be considered for current projects.Where can I obtain copies of the standard?

As the standards are Copyright we are unable to issue copies. They can be purchased from SAI Global via our website https://www.disabilityaccessconsultants.com.au/australian-standards-overview/ Due to the extent of changes and confusion these new standards will produce we have set up a section of our Blog called “New 2009 Disability Standards”. I will be posting as regularly as I can discussing the standards content and how they change from the currents standards.