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Building Law News, June 2011
The Disability (Access to Buildings – Premises) Standards 2011
Designed to improve access for people with disabilities
These standards commenced on 2 May 2011 and will apply to all applications for building approval for new and existing public buildings. They apply in all states; each state is passing complementary building standards.
There will be an exemption from the standards where it is deemed that compliance would cause unjustifiable hardship. To determine whether there will be unjustifiable hardship, the matters for consideration include:
- Increases in costs or loss of revenue likely to result from compliance;
- The extent to which the building is used for public purposes and has a community function;
- The cost of alterations proportionate to the value of the building; and
- Benefits of compliance to people with a disability and other building users