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Australian standards relevant to access for people with disabilities, primarily the AS1428 suite, provide detailed technical specifications for achieving accessibility and usability of buildings and facilities. Whilst the requirements of relevant Australian standards are not mandatory in themselves, where building regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act invoke them, they or parts of them become mandatory. The use of enhanced standards is encouraged.
Using the expert assistance and advice of an accredited access consultant can be useful for practitioners to help interpret Australian standards and the Building Code of Australia, and to ensure that its Deemed to Satisfy performance based requirements are met.
It is not uncommon for legislative requirements to compete directly for ascendancy. Examples include imposing some elements of disability access requirements on a heritage listed property, or a childcare centre. Disabled Access Consultancy is able to offer sound advice in this respect.