Why does the NSW Government continue to disregard minimum accessibility standards for new builds?

Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion commending the Building Better Homes campaign and condemning the NSW Government for its ongoing refusal to adopt the National Construction Code’s Liveable Housing Design Silver Standard for accessible housing, leaving NSW as one of only two states not signed up to the code.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes that:

on Tuesday 6 August 2024, the Building Better Homes campaign, people with disability, older people, advocates and allies rallied outside NSW Parliament House against the continued refusal of the NSW Government to sign onto the 2022 National Construction Code’s Liveable Housing Design Silver Standard for minimum housing accessibility,
speakers at the rally included:
- Declan Lee, a disability advocate and member of Physical Disability Council of NSW’s lived experience advisory panel,
- Julie Charlton, disability and youth advocate, elite para-athlete and member of Physical Disability council of NSW’s lived experience advisory panel,
- Ed Morris, CEO of Physical Disability Council of NSW,
- Abigail Boyd, Greens NSW MLC, and
- Alex Greenwich, Member for Sydney.
the Building Better Homes campaigners handed an open letter to Abigail Boyd and Alex Greenwich at the rally, signed by 89 people with disability and older people, and 108 advocates and allies, and addressed to the NSW Premier Chris Minns, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, Minister for Housing Rose Jackson, Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington and Minister for Building and Better Regulation Anoulack Chanthivong, which included that:
- “for the past two years, you, our NSW state leaders, have refused to sign up to the Silver Liveable Housing Design Standards mandated in the National Construction Code, a set of design standards that require new housing developments to offer basic accessibility for all people. In this year’s NSW State Budget, you unveiled an ambitious plan to build thousands of new homes, but without a mandatory design standard for new housing development in place people with disability and older people are excluded. These standards are not a lot to ask – they simply require that developers include things like a step free shower and level entry to new homes that are built. If it’s good enough for Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT, surely it’s good enough for NSW. Together, we – people with disability, older Australians, advocates and allies – call on you to end discriminatory housing in NSW.”
in 2024, NSW is one of only two states that refuses to sign onto the minimum accessibility standards, despite the fierce fight of the Building Better Homes campaign for years, and
both the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation and the NDIS Independent Review recommended states and territories immediately adopt the mandatory standards for all new dwellings, as did the NSW Ageing and Disability Commissioner.

(2) That this House:

commends the work of the Building Better Homes campaign for their continuous fight for every Australian to have a home they can easily access and which is built to last a lifetime, and
calls on the NSW Government to stop dragging its feet and commit to sign onto the 2022 National Construction Code’s Liveable Housing Design Silver Standards for minimum housing accessibility as a matter of urgency.

8 August 2024

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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Why does the NSW Government continue to disregard minimum accessibility standards for new builds?

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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