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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-01 Daily Xml
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DISABILITY ACCESS

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:08): Will the Minister for Urban Development and Planning provide details of the commonwealth's proposed Disability (Access to Premises—Buildings) Standards to improve disability access to newly constructed buildings—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! You don't have a debate across the chamber. The Hon. Mrs Zollo might want to start again. I haven't heard a word of that.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: I think that's a very good idea, Mr President. As I said, my question is to the Minister for Urban Development and Planning. Will the minister provide details of the commonwealth's proposed Disability (Access to Premises—Buildings) Standards to improve disability access to newly constructed buildings in South Australia?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: On a point of order, I am wondering why the minister would be accountable for commonwealth regulations.

The PRESIDENT: I just wonder why you are calling a point of order. The honourable minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: My point of order—

The PRESIDENT: Sit down! The honourable minister.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:09): I thank the honourable member for her question. The Building Ministers' Forum that is being convened today in Melbourne will be discussing a range of important issues for the future directions of the building and construction industry. Matters that have been discussed today include the national construction code and also the issue of disability access to buildings.

The issue of disability access to buildings is important to many South Australians. Since 1990, the Building Code of Australia has had requirements for providing access to new buildings for people with disabilities. In many cases, these provisions have not satisfied the intent of the commonwealth government's Disability Discrimination Act, implemented in 1993.

Although the Building Code of Australia has provisions for access for people with disabilities, under the commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1982, complaints can still be made against owners of new buildings that comply with the Building Code of Australia because those access provisions have not been considered adequate. This situation has created great uncertainty in the building and construction industry, with some new buildings required to make very expensive alterations well after construction has been completed as a result of a successful Disability Discrimination Act complaint.

After more than 10 years of negotiations, this matter is close to a resolution, with the commonwealth government tabling the Premises Standards in the federal parliament in March 2010. This now enables the adoption of the agreed Disability (Access to Premises—Buildings) Standards by both the Disability Discrimination Act and similar technical provisions in the Building Code of Australia on 1 May 2011. So next year on 1 May that will become part of the Building Code of Australia.

Development of the Premises Standards has involved a number of major public consultation processes, including consultation in 2004 as part of the initial development of the Premises Standards, and also the inquiry into draft premises standards undertaken by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, which released its report 'Access all Areas'in 2009 after extensive consultation.

I have been advised there has also been extensive consultation with stakeholders through the disability access reference group, Standards Australia, in the development of the revised Australian standards, involving numerous disability groups and industry associations and state and territory officials during the entire developmental phase of the Premises Standards.

The Premises Standards have been developed to prescribe new and amended work to provide certainty, so that new buildings will comply with the objects of the Disability Discrimination Act and complaints will be minimised. The Premises Standards will also provide protection against Disability Discrimination Act complaints for new buildings and new work on existing buildings. Unmodified existing buildings and unmodified areas in existing buildings are not covered by the Premises Standards and may still be the subject of a successful complaint under the Disability Discrimination Act, as they are now.

South Australia, along with the other states and territories, now needs to implement regulatory and administrative arrangements to ensure the consistent implementation of the Premises Standards on a national basis, and that is why the question is relevant particularly to South Australia.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: For the shadow attorney-general's benefit, we are actually a federation. We are a federation—do you understand what that means? Does he understand what a federation is?

In particular, an access panel needs to be established in South Australia for considering development applications involving work on existing buildings and departures from the prescriptive requirements. In South Australia it is proposed that the role of the existing Building Rules Assessment Commission could be expanded to include the access panel functions if additional persons competent in access are added to its membership.

It should be noted that the Building Rules Assessment Commission already had a member appointed to it with these qualifications, Mr Ross Sands. The Building Rules Assessment Commission has also previously considered applications regarding compliance with the current Building Code of Australia access provisions. The role of the commission will now be reviewed to ensure that legislative requirements are appropriate for it to perform all the functions expected on an access panel. Any South Australian variations to the Building Code of Australia on access matters will also need to be reviewed before 1 May 2011 to ensure consistency with the Premises Standards and the Building Code of Australia provisions.

As mentioned earlier, these matters are to be discussed today at the building ministers' Forum and, unfortunately, with parliament sitting this week, I am unable to attend that. However, South Australia's interests are being ably represented by an official from the Department of Planning and Local Government. I hope that discussions at this meeting will result in a consensus and common-sense approach to this issue by all states and territories. The adoption of Disability (Access to Premises—Buildings) Standards 2010 is good news: good news for builders, architects, investors and, most importantly, South Australians with a disability.

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