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Welcome to No: 44 of THE PDCN BULLETIN. This Bulletin goes out to PDCN members and others who wish to receive it regularly by email. Internet links are included throughout the bulletin for further reading. Please forward this bulletin to anyone you know would welcome it.

1. Sydney Public Hearing for the Draft Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards 2009

As part of the current Draft Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards 2009 a public hearing was recently held in Sydney.

Following the preparation of a submission, the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) attended the public hearing. The three Members of the House of Representatives attending this public hearing were very familiar with the issues and appeared to understand the many frustrations caused by the existing unsatisfactory legal framework. Discussions at the hearing focused on the following:

• Introduction of legislation to increase the policing powers of the Australian Human Rights Commission, with the Commissioner Graeme Innes AM, welcoming these new powers;
• Relevance of the 80 and 90% deciles in the access standards, and international research being conducted at Buffalo University regarding the wheelchair footprint;
• Costs associated with the draft Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards when retrofitting a building, particularly for Class 1B buildings - caravans, eco villages or bed and breakfast facilities, and smaller buildings accommodating professional and/ or commercial services;
• Limitations arising because tenants will only be responsible for completion of access improvements within the property they lease;
• The urgent need to include access to common areas of Class 2 buildings - apartments, flats and units;
• What constitutes unjustifiable hardship, including a suggestion made by the Property Council of Australia that where the cost of access increases the cost of the retrofit or construction by 15 percent or more (including losses of rentable space), a project should automatically qualify for unjustifiable hardship. When questioned further by members of the Standing Committee, the Property Council was unable to provide evidence in support of this recommendation, or what costs would be included in this determination;
• Operation and role of the proposed Model Process to Administer Building Works for People with Disabilities;
• Many presenters stressed the urgency in adopting the draft Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards, even though the Standards are far from ideal, and including the following as part of the review:
  • Way-finding for people with a vision impairment;
  • Emergency egress for people with a physical disability;
  • Impact of the exemption where lessees are not required to provide a continuous accessible path of travel from the affected part to the building entrance;
  • Wheelchair footprint for people with a physical disability; and
  • The operation of the Model Process to Administer Building Works for People with Disabilities.

  Further reading:

  Draft Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards

  Model Process to Administer Building Works for People with Disabilities

  PDCN Submission - Review of the Draft (Disability Access to Premises-Buildings) Standards 2009
  Prepared for the House of Representatives House Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs —March 2009

  Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport Amendment 2009

  Australian Human Rights Commission

  Property Council of Australia

2. Investigation by Accessible Arts NSW into Formal and Informal Training for Musicians with a Disability

To further promote audience participation and social inclusion, Accessible Arts NSW is investigating the availability of formal and informal training options for musicians with a disability.