Universal Design in Housing in Australia: Getting to Yes.

In Australia, the last frontier for universal design is mainstream housing. Developers in the private residential sector have consistently, and successfully, argued for the status quo to remain. Developers' claims of cost and lack of demand have swayed governments that are in favor of "letting the market decide". Disability- and age-specific housing and one-off projects have included many features that are considered universal design. So, the technical details are not an issue. The house-building sector in Australia consists of many parts, all held together by regulations and professional codes and norms of practice. Calls for accessible housing were heard by the Australian Government in 2010 and a set of voluntary guidelines were developed jointly by industry and disability advocacy groups. These became the "Livable Housing Design Guidelines". It was understood that industry needed time to reorganize to bring about the changes needed. Consequently, it was agreed to progressively introduce accessible features over ten years so that by 2020 all new homes should be built to a basic level of accessibility. However, it was obvious in 2017 that this goal was unachievable with voluntary guidelines. Mandating these guidelines has been shunned at every turn, but the need to mandate could no longer be ignored. Through community advocacy efforts, the body that regulates the National Construction Code has been brought to the negotiating table to discuss mandating basic access features in all new homes. This paper reports on the processes and progress of these negotiations and the outcomes to date.