RESPONSE

Your project requires a “BCA Performance Solution Report” but these must be prepared independently of the Principal Certifying Authority. 

Sydney Access Consultants have accredited access consultants with the experience, expertise and wherewithal to specifically address the identified area of concern to assess whether it can equal the deemed to satisfy provisions of the statutory requirements, or alternatively provide practical advice to achieve a suitable outcome by discussing your design alternatives with you.

BCA requires a record to be kept of each Performance Solution and prescribes the information required to be retained. This technical document is the product of our services.

PERFORMANCE SOLUTION FEES

Our total fee for the preparation of the performance Solution Report for your project is calculated on a bottom-up basis to suit your brief.

MOBILISATION FEES

Typically, mobilisation fees are payable upon commencement, and the balance is due and payable upon issue of the draft report (100% payment is payable prior to the release of our authorised report). 

COMPLETION

If commissioned, I am usually able to complete the draft report for your review within 48 hours.

DISCRETION

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) provides few discretionary dispensations to apply in express circumstances. These may be applicable to your project, but I can only assess whether they apply on a case by case basis and by a very thorough examination of the circumstances, the Australian Standards and the DDA as it applies to the Building Codes.

RELIANCE ON THE USE OF PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Sydney Access Consultants apply regional best practices, informed by experience, industry conferences, forums, discussions and ongoing education, research and training in the field of Access Consulting however, the responsibilities imposed on you by the DDA cannot be abrogated. Public Authorities, organisations and individuals must therefore satisfy themselves that the recommendations offered in our reports protect their interests. 

To be perfectly frank, a certifying authority is never obliged to accept the alternative solution offered by any professional access consultant. Acceptable Performance Solutions require that the team get together and agree on an acceptable strategy. A draft report, on your instructions, is always forwarded to your principal certifying authority for their comment to ensure that your efforts will satisfy the certifier.

YOUR FUTURE DISABILITY ACCESS PLANNING

We advise that legal issues in the area of anti-discrimination law are in the process of change and that many areas of the legislation remain untested in the courts. Until Judges settle questionable interpretations of the Disability Discrimination Act's requirements we must rely on educated opinion. In addition, constant change is occurring in relation to the various applicable Australian Standards and in our Building Codes, as well as within our area of expertise. Our industry guides professional access consultants through the Association of Access Consultants Australia, by way of regular conclaves of the membership for the purpose of professional development research and for the development of a consistent approach between experts in this field, and Sydney Access Consultants staff are active participants in this process. 

We offer you a professional standard of advice as of the moment, but by reason of the potential volatility of change, building owners and occupants are encouraged to consider revisions in Standards as they arise with due reference to the potential for additional statutory obligations and risk of further liability in future. Clients are encouraged to continue to review their approach to disability access, and into the future, beyond this report, we remain available to assist you. 

If you have any questions, please call at your convenience on 0295863111 

Gary Finn

Architect Principal #5774 (NSW)

Unlike the rest of Australia, every house in Sydney carries a price tag of, on average $1m, so throwing a few thousand bucks for a really good architect's advice is even more difficult to afford, but potentially something that can save you a million dollars!!

NSW Aged Care facilities are occupied at a rate of 95% capacity which ensures that entry costs will increase year upon year.

In NSW the average entry price is approximately $250,000 for the moment, in the form of a refundable accommodation bond. However, expert predictions are that aged care providers will need to increase entry level prices of aged care facilities to approximately 75% of the average house prices in the surrounding precinct. For the majority of Sydney this would mean an entry price of approximately $750,000. So much for tough love.

If you're lucky enough to have purchased a home in Sydney years ago, there'll be precious little remaining to leave to your children when you sell it on to purchase your way into a retirement facility. That's if you can find one with vacancies. Typically 70% of your "refundable accommodation bond" is returned, usually without accruing any interest attributable to your estate, when your surviving family could benefit from it.

Whether aged care providers will implement these increases remains open to cynical debate, however, construction costs and land limitations are the apparent driving forces in the Sydney market, so the odds are stacked in favour of significant increases. 

ACFA (the Aged Care Financing Authority) estimate that an additional 86,000 places will be needed in the next 5 years and although this figure includes demands estimated Australia wide, on present forecasts, the industry is most unlikely to meet this future demand with self contained accommodation.

Home Care represents the government's present best strategy for picking up the expected overflow. So over the next 5 years we expect the larger Aged Care providers to include Home Care services and home nursing to clients in their existing homes.

In 2011 the Federal Government implemented its "Livable Housing Design Guidelines" for just this purpose, but punters seem less aware than they ought to be.

If I were a forward thinking future retiree, I'd be contemplating making my current home one that can be adaptable for future use, and as a property investor, Im thinking that demands for such homes will undoubtedly increase. That's when you'll need a competent architect, experienced in accessibility.

Gary Finn   

Read more about it here: why-is-aged-care-changing

Attracting this segment of our society makes business sense and business people need to be made more aware of this. Max explains.....

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Livable housing designs

Home designs

As architects with many years in business designing, documenting and constructing livable housing solutions for Social Housing providers as well as private clients, we are highly specialised professionals and our services are available to you in the arduous process that is building procurement. We don't just prepare your plans, but that is some of what we can do for you. Indeed, many of our repeat clients are practising architect firms looking for peer review to satisfy their quality assurance programs, and improve the approvals processes.

SDA

NDIS SDA Accredited Assessor

With the introduction of the NDIS, it has become important to meet the Platinum Level for registration of Specialist Disability Accommodation. The NDIS requirements exceed those indicated in the Livable Housing Design Scheme, so we prefer to refer to "Platinum Plus" or "Silver Plus" for SDA design assessments. We have designed and documented in excess of 40 group homes for the NSW Government, and more for the private and NGO sector. We are Accredited Livable Housing Design Assessors to assist developments of SDA and home modifications under the NDIS and My Aged Care. Because of our ageing population, we are passionate about the prospect of modifying existing homes so that owners can "age in place" with home care, without relocating to a nursing home if possible.

Be careful who you rely on for information. Notoriously, the internet is filled with "fake news". The Federal Government established SDA Rules 2016 (Compiled 27/03/19) to control the process. However, much of the detail of the rules applying to SDA are concealed on the NDIS web site, particularly, in the 2019/20 SDA Price Guide, the 2019/20 SDA Pricing Calculator (xls file) and on the SDA Pricing and Payments pages. There is also a useful resource in the SDA Innovation Plan and in the SDA Registration information page.

I February 2020 the NDIS released the SDA Design Standards which will take immediate effect but are enforceable from July 2021. SDA that is not already registered before that deadline must comply with the SDA Design Standards. I will try and keep these links to the NDIS site up to date, though it is always safer to check the NDIS site directly.

Accredited SDA Assessor, or SDA Design Services

SEPP 65

Any development of multi-housing required to meet the SEPP 65 needs to incorporate Universal Housing Solutions and comply with the BCA for Class 2 or mixed-use development. We have accredited access consultants and accredited Livable Housing design Assessors to assist SEPP 65 developments to meet their obligations, by auditing the designs prior to construction and certifying the building for its potential for compliance with the access obligations upon completion.

AS 4299

The Adaptable Housing Standard is often adopted by local government to provide housing which seeks to meet the needs of an ageing population. developers are often tasked with the opportunity to include AS 4299 compliant dwellings within new multi-dwelling developments. Our role is to audit the design documents and certify the compliance on completion, as Accredited access Consultants.

What is Livable Housing Design?

Livable Housing designs are designs that incorporate disability access solutions so that a family can age in place and cater for unplanned events. These solutions provide for great practicalities in circumstances where you may appreciate no immediate need for "access for the disabled". I can assure you that these come with little or no extra construction cost.

By using an access architect, best practice solutions are tailored specifically for your family and current circumstances, taking into consideration your own dreams and aspirations into the future. 

We suggest that there are seven key elements to Universal Design.

• A design that is equitable
• A design that is flexible enough to accommodate our differences
• A design that is simple and intuitive
• A design that is perceptible and informative
• A design that minimises errors
• A designed product that requires low physical effort
• A design providing appropriate size and space.