AQ's independent research early findings suggest tactiles are being over prescribed at the taxpayers expense and are underutilised by the visually impaired.  In economic modeling, current estimates of annual global investment in Tactiles is just under 1 billion AUD with Australia and New Zealand leading the way with the most pervasive regulation for building installations and investment followed by Japan and the UK. Tactile Ground Surface Indicators are the penny sized lumps and bumps you see at stairs, platforms and intersection and are designed to give both visual and tactile...

Peninsula News - 17 Mar 2014  Boarding house objections may deny human rights Objections to a new boarding house proposed for Ettalong may result in a denial of human rights, according to the author of a new housing standard which rates housing for affordability and accessibility to work and other services. Mr Richard Brew, author of the Annex-5 housing standard, said that a failure to provide adequate housing was a failure to protect human rights. "Rejecting housing development without solid justification is at odds with the natural right to a home," he said. He said groups...

Workplaces often require areas greater than the AS 1428 access standard series and we're often asked about ramps within workplaces and Designers WHS 2012 duty of care which is reason for this guide note. The dimensions in AS 1428.1 were initially based on studies by J. Bails, Project report on the field testing of the Australian Standard 1428-1977 Part 1 and 2, Public Building Department of South Australia, 1983. It's important to remember that Bails research analysed the anthropometry of wheeled mobility users which is similar but different to workplace needs. While there's...

Annex: a Universal Design Standard Annex is a process centered Universal Design standard, which is different to other template-based universal standard. It is necessary, especially in public places, to have generic facilities that meet most people’s needs most of the time or universal design. Yet relying on templates alone will lead to one-size-fits-all outcomes or over design, compliance gridlock if the template will not fit the building and a reliance on the standard for situations where it was not intended such as home modifications to address a person’s individual disability or...

What level of Detail is required for Planning DA and CC? By nature or perhaps by design, our planning system is imperfect and confusing especially when trying to determine the level of access detail required at each stage of the negotiations. Developers are often reticent to request design details and reports especially if there is an element of uncertainty and the project is subject to further changes. On the other side of the counter:- the planners’ are looking for greater detail to ensure that the project will address the public interests. Our interpretation is that ultimately the...

WHS in the home The general exemption for homes, dwellings, units apartments, houses. It’s a moot question whether a home is a workplace and therefore required to be safe and accessible. The community like to think of our house as a home and not a workplace and this is reflected in the exemption of most freestanding houses from the Premises Standards. There may be an issue in housing when a house becomes a workplace or an apartment building with accommodation and communal areas. However, generally speaking, the Premises standards doesn't extend to single dwellings, townhouses or...