New housing ‘super’ portfolio opens door to increase focus on accessibility

Disability advocacy agency JFA Purple Orange has welcomed the elevation of the State Government’s response to the housing crisis after the recent Cabinet reshuffle, but called on housing ‘super’ Minister Nick Champion to match the symbolism with a clear commitment to building inclusive and accessible neighbourhoods across South Australia.

JFA Purple Orange CEO Robbi Williams said the housing crisis will not be resolved now or in the future unless accessibility is part of the conversation from the start. We need to plan and build homes that will ensure we can all afford to live and stay in a home no matter what stage of life we are in, including people living with disability and our ageing population.

“We welcome the government’s commitment to making housing a key priority through the creation of a larger housing portfolio,” Mr Williams said.

“It sends a clear message about the importance of tackling the housing crisis and this must happen in ways that are inclusive of the needs of everyone. Accessible housing is not just for people living with disability or the disability community to solve – it’s a mainstream housing issue for all South Australians.

“The housing crisis is made much worse by the extreme shortage of accessible dwellings. We hear stories of people undertaking personal care routines in kitchens because their bathrooms are inaccessible.

“The housing crisis won’t end until we deal with the compounding problems of inaccessibility that leave people stranded in inappropriate accommodation, including hospitals, or, even worse, rendered homeless.”

Investment needed to support rollout of NCC accessibility standard

JFA Purple Orange is optimistic that the new housing ‘super’ portfolio will also give more weight to the upcoming implementation of the National Construction Code 2022 (NCC 2022) Liveable Housing Design Standard, which will see a minimum accessibility standard applied to all new builds from October 2024 – albeit with some exemptions.

To ensure the successful rollout of the NCC 2022, JFA Purple Orange has, in its submission to Treasury ahead of the upcoming State Budget, called on the Government to support its implementation through a funded ‘best practice’ campaign to assist the housing industry through this important change.

“We’re asking the State Government to immediately invest in education, capacity building, and demonstration projects to ensure the success of the NCC 2022,” Mr Williams said.

“The NCC 2022 is critically important to addressing the housing crisis and ensuring houses are fit-for-purpose for the long-term because the evidence demonstrates that modifying later is significantly more expensive than building with these basic accessibility features from the get-go.

“Given the last-minute allowance of broad exemptions, close monitoring and public reporting of their use will be critical for both accountability and understanding the extent of their impact on the supply of accessible dwellings. Overuse of exemptions will hold our state back from solving this crisis.”

Lack of accessible dwellings increases housing insecurity

Belle Owen uses a power wheelchair and knows firsthand the difficulties of finding an accessible place to live and the isolation, exclusion, and heightened sense of housing insecurity that it creates.

“I don’t have options, I can’t just go to any home, any rental property, I can’t even go back to my parents’ place if I needed to because they’ve downsized and their home isn’t accessible,” Ms Owen explained.

“In my last rental, I had some minor access changes made so I could use the bathroom and kitchen independently. When it came time to buy a place, there were no houses in our price range that were accessible for me near my family, friends, and workplace. We had to branch out.

“We looked at new builds and none of them were accessible. I couldn’t enter or move around the home in my wheelchair – they were literally not an option. Ironically, we had to look at older homes because they had better design elements structurally but will require expensive renovations. We had to compromise for something we felt could be made accessible in the future.

“The day we got the keys was meant to be the most exciting day, but because of the inaccessible entrance I couldn’t even independently get into my new home,” Ms Owen said.

“In the three months we have lived there, while I wait for approvals for modifications, I cannot shower independently, cook a meal independently, both of which I could do before. I’ve had to rely on supports. It affects my ability to be independent, leave my house, go to work, have a social life. It affects my relationships, my mental health, and has made me isolated – something that I wasn’t before.”

Call to adopt Accessible Housing Overlay

Increasing the supply of accessible dwellings is critical to preventing these costly consequences. JFA Purple Orange is proposing the adoption of an Accessible Housing Overlay in the Planning and Design Code based on the existing Affordable Housing Overlay. It would require higher levels of accessibility for a portion of new builds and be applied to new developments, ensuring accessible homes are spread throughout communities and not congregated or segregated.

“The State Government should adopt a nation-leading Accessible Housing Overlay to assist in addressing the shortfall of accessible housing supply and ensure we create genuinely inclusive neighbourhoods,” Mr Williams said.

“The recently announced rezoning of former defence land at Smithfield offers a strong example of where and how an Accessible Housing Overlay would make a very real impact. This development is in a prime location between a trainline and a shopping centre and presents an exciting opportunity to plan, design, and build for genuine ‘best practice’ housing, neighbourhood, and community accessibility and inclusion.

“In a crisis, there’s a tendency to focus on the short-term, but houses and community infrastructure built now will still be in use in 50, 60, or even 70 years. If we invest in high-quality, durable, accessibility features now, we will reap the financial savings in the coming years as well as assisting in preventing another housing crisis.

“It would be foolish not to apply a long-term lens to how we respond to the current housing crisis,” Mr Williams added.

“Doing so will not only benefit people with access needs now, but also ensure that our ageing population can age in place rather than entering costly institutional settings away from communities and families.

“The ‘super’ portfolio is a pivotal opportunity for this Government to ensure we tackle the housing crisis, and set our communities up for a positive future inclusive of everyone.”

Further information & interviews 

Marissa Brown

Leader, Marketing and Communications

Julia Farr group (including JFA Purple Orange, inhousing, Stretchy Tech and JFM Fund)

Tel: 8373 8388

Email: media@juliafarr.org.au