Australian Disabled Access Consultants  were recently commissioned by the NSW State Property Authority to provide disabled access and wheelchair access building refurbishment design advice for the Blacktown Government Office Building.

The scope of work involved:

  • Assessment of the wheelchair and disabled access aspects of the existing toilets and kitchenettes on all floors. The disabled parking access within the basement was also part of the assessment
  • Review the wheelchair and disabled access aspects of the detailed design drawings, by Plan Source building designers, for the accessible toilets and refurbished kitchenettes and the existing basement parking floors for compliance with Australian Standards AS1428.1–2001 (Design for Access and Mobility – Part 1: General Requirements for Access), AS1428.2–1992 ( Design for Access and Mobility – Part 2: Enhanced and Additional Requirements), AS/NZ1428.4–2002 and AS/NZ2890.1–2004 (Parking Facilities–Part 1: Off-street Car Parking)
  • Provide a Disability Access Assessment Report, certifying the final design drawing’s compliance with the guidelines
  • Providing a Disability Access Building Audit Report, certifying the building’s wheelchair and disabled access guidelines compliance

The disabled access drawing assessment established that the accessible toilets generally complied with AS1428.1 and AS1428.2 disabled access design guidelines in terms of:

  • Bathroom design elements 
  • Grab rails 
  • Taps and shower heads 
  • Slip resistant floor materials 
  • Doorway widths and corridor widths 
  • Floor-ceiling heights along all movement pathways 
  • Lighting illumination

Australian Disabled Access Consultants explained that the disabled access design assessment report revealed that the building refurbishment design complied with the guiding principles of the Disabilities Discrimination Act, Blacktown City Council’s wheelchair and disabled access design guidelines for commercial development within the Blacktown Town Centre business district, and Australian Standards AS1428.1, AS1428.2 and AS2890.1 wheelchair and disabled access building and parking design guidelines.