Plan and build for disabilities

Twenty per cent of Australians have a disability, the number is increasing as with ageing, and Government, businesses and service providers cannot afford to ignore this growing community, according to Bob Kellow, a spokesperson for the Association of Consultants in Access Australia (ACAA).

Planning for access to public buildings, transport, shopping, and recreation and tourist facilities, is pivotal in developing an accessible built environment, he says.

“While governments at all levels have policies to make communities more accessible, deficiencies and anomalies in relevant legislation together with some poor building design, create some very real difficulties in their implementation,” he says.

Accredited Access Consultants play a key role in developing accessible environments.
The ACAA represents Accredited Access Consultants and is hosting its 3rd Annual national conference from 14-16 November in Melbourne, to discuss these issues.

For more information visit www.access.asn.au