2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 8 -Attachment 1 - Housing Needs Assessment

14. People with a disability
At census 2016 there were 2,737 people in Noosa Shire in need of assistance with a profound or
severe disability. This includes residents of any age and is not limited to recipients of social services
payments. The figure was proportionally on par with the State’s figures, however if the population
continues to age at a fast rate it can be expected the number of older residents with mobility
limitations will increase as well.
In 2021 there were over 1,600 recipients of the disability support pension in Noosa Shire. The range
of disabilities is wide and only some of these would need special physical attributes to their housing.
Some residents with a physical disability (especially those already in home ownership) will be in a
financial position to secure housing that meets their needs, or to have their existing home modified
retrospectively. However, others will not and the range of housing options available to them will be
very limited.
Noosa Plan 2020 includes provisions in the Dual Occupancy and Multiple Dwelling Code that
multiple dwellings can be comfortably occupied and visited by a wide cross section of the community
including people with limited mobility. The specific acceptable outcomes are that one in three multiple
dwelling units:
a)    is accessible by a safe, continuous and step free path of travel from the street entrance of
      the property or from a carparking space;
b)    has a step-free entrance door with opening width of at least 820 millimetres; and
c)    contains a bathroom on the entry level.
Noosa Council has a history of seeking to require a higher level of disability access. However
repeated attempts have failed due to the assertion that the matter of disabled access is addressed
in the Building Code of Australia and therefore cannot be addressed in a planning scheme, to do so
would constitute a conflict with the Building Act.
In 2018 the Australian Building Code Board, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government released
an Accessible Housing Options Paper. Accessible housing is any housing that includes features that
enable use by people either with a disability or transitioning through their life stages. Consultation
was undertaken and a consultation report prepared to summarise the feedback.
In April 2021, the Building Ministers agreed to include minimum accessibility provisions for residential
housing and apartments in the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 based on the Livable
Housing Design Guidelines (LHDG) silver standards. The Gold Standard will also be included in the
NCC as a ‘technical referral’ meaning states and territories can decide to upgrade to Gold voluntarily.
Each state and territory will be free to determine whether and how the new provisions will be applied
in their jurisdiction to minimise the regulatory impact on the construction sector. The new NCC is
scheduled to take effect on 1 September 2022.
The draft provisions address dwelling access, entrance ways, internal doors and corridors, toilets,
showers and reinforcement of bathroom and toilet walls.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides a range of home and living support
services in an attempt to enable people with disabilities to choose where and with whom they live.
Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) refers to accommodation for people who require
specialist housing solutions, including to assist with the delivery of supports that cater for their
extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. SDA funding is not support services, but
is instead for the homes in which these services are delivered.
Participants receive an SDA budget that is sufficient for a shared arrangement (for example with 1-
4 others) or to facilitate access to shared supports. Through SDA funding the NDIA anticipates
growth in models that make use of smaller built forms (and shared on-site or nearby supports) rather
than a perpetuation of group home settings.



Noosa Housing Needs Assessment 2021                                                            Page 115