Designing to meet the Liveable Housing Design Standards

By Glen McCulloch

There have been a number of changes to how and what we can design when it comes to residential dwellings recently. The Liveable Housing Design Standards came into effect May 1st, 2024 and as such all new dwellings need to meet these requirements. But what are these requirements, and why were they implemented?

 

What?

Key principles of the standards are:

  1. Step-Free Access: Ensuring the home can be accessed without steps, from the exterior to the entryway
  2. Wide Doorways and Hallways: Designing doorways and hallways wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs, scooters, or walkers. A lot of doors (not all) now need to be 820mm clear and a lot of hallways (not all) need to be 1m wide minimum
  3. Accessible Bathrooms: Creating bathrooms that are easy to navigate and include features like the ability to add grab rails in the future, enough space for manoeuvrability, and accessible shower areas.

 

Why?

The Standards were not implemented specifically to deal with disabilities, but in an aim to promote a higher standard of living by making homes more functional and accommodating for people with diverse abilities, thus enhancing independence, comfort, and quality of life. In turn these changes should allow people to stay in there home longer in their later years.

 

Working with a designer that understands these new requirements will help you save time and money by getting your design right the first time