Published Articles

Evacuation of people with a disability

Facility Perspectives, March 2012

People with a disability have the same rights as any other occupant to evacuate a building safely.

Egress provisions are not currently covered in the Premises Standards, but they are still subject to discrimination complaints under the DDA.

The current gap in the Premises Standards and the BCA compromises the safety of people with a disability who need to work, reside in or visit various buildings. Many buildings have multiple exits on different floor levels that are not accessible in an emergency, which could be interpreted as disability discrimination.

To read more download the following PDF.Evacuation Policies for People with a Disability

About the House

Parliament of Australia

Bruce Bromley understands buildings and the thought that needs to go into designing them.

He is a disability access consultant and the managing director of Equal Access Pty Ltd based in Melbourne.

Mr Bromley has conducted access ‘audits’ on some of Australia’s major public buildings. When asked for specific examples of what he actually does during those audits, the conversation quickly turns to toilets.

In toilets there are something like 60 items alone we look at for compliance, that’s how complex it is, he says.And how many come up to scratch? You’re looking at about two per cent.

Mr Bromley’s example highlights part of the problem with the current guidelines for disability access.

To read more download the following PDF  About The House