George Xinos of Functional Access Solutions will be co-presenting a three day workshop on home modifications along with Occupational Therapist, Wendy Chandler.

The workshop is part of Yooralla's Assistive Technology Learning program and will be held on Monday 13 October 2014, Monday 20 October 2014 and Tuesday 21 October 2014, at the Independent Living Centre, 705 Princes Hwy, Brooklyn, Victoria.

This will be a 'hands on' workshop, held over two weeks to allow participants to apply learned content in their own workplace and consolidate learning outcomes.


Learning outcomes include:

• Increase understanding of DDA, BCA, AS 1428 and their relevance to modifying private residences.
• Understand some of the legal implications for therapists and clients.
• Increase awareness of possible design faults and develop knowledge and strategies to avoid these.
• Gain an understanding of home modification in the context of more specialised areas such as bariatrics, palliative care, environmental control & dementia.
• Opportunity to work through case studies, and discuss and review ideas and examples of well integrated home modifications.
• Gain confidence in communicating recommendations graphically and producing suitable specifications / scopes of work.
• Work through examples of more complex home modifications.
  

For more information or to book your place please download the workshop flyer, or contact Yooralla's Assistive Technology Learning on (03) 9362 6111 or 1300 885 886.

In 2010 the National Dialogue for Universal Housing Design took place at Kirribilli House. The National Dialogue was the result of the previous Australian Government inviting housing industry leaders and community leaders representing people with disability and older people to address the issue of a lack of suitable housing stock in Australia.

Members of the National Dialogue included the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Institute of Architects, National People with Disabilities and Carers Council, The Property Council of Australia, and Stockland amongst several others. The overarching aim of convening the group was to address the lack of accessible housing available in Australia, this in light of an ageing population and an increasingly impending crises in housing approaching.

A number of activities have been initiated at a state and municipal level across Australia to better address this issue, however the direct result of the National Dialogue was the establishment of Livable Housing Australia (LHA) in 2011. The strategies implemented by LHA were developing the Livable Housing Design (LHD) Guidelines, commencing a certification process based on compliance with the Guidelines, establishing mechanisms and registering assessors to support the accreditation process, and the ongoing promotion of the Guidelines to industry. Compliance and subsequent certification remains an entirely voluntary scheme to builders and developers.

The stated aim of the Guidelines are to produce homes which are easier and safer to use for all occupants inclusive of people with disabilities, older people, people with temporary disabilities and families with young children. They state that a ‘livable home is designed to:

·        Be easy to enter and exit;
·        Be easy to move around in;
·        Be capable of easy and cost effective adaption; and
·        Anticipate and respond to the changing needs of home occupants.’

Three performance levels are identified under the guidelines – Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. Silver is the least onerous and focuses on key spatial elements allowing for future adaptability of the home at far lower cost to the occupant. Gold allows larger circulation to key areas within the home and extends to other areas such as the kitchen and bathroom. Platinum circulation requirements increase further and includes further features such living room and flooring guidelines.

During the initial convening of the National Dialogue, a number of agreed targets were identified regarding uptake by industry and the general community. These included:

·        25% to Silver level by 2013;
·        50% to Silver Level by 2015;
·        75% to Silver level by 2018; and,
·        100% to Silver level by 2020.

Agreement was also reached to review uptake at two to three year intervals across the nominated 10 year period with the review including residential building, aged care as well as public and social housing. This review was not however initiated by the National Dialogue or by government. As a result and as a founding member of the National Dialogue, the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design (ANUHD) in conjunction with RI Australia, recently published a report attempting to assess progress against the aforementioned targets.

The report states that in early May 2014 LHA had issued 294 certificates across Australia with 24 of these actually built. LHA did however also state at the time that 500 dwellings were registered for certification but had not yet been certified, that they identified over 1850 other dwellings which claim to have been designed or built to at least Silver level but had not registered for certification, and that they anticipate that there are hundreds more dwellings delivered which would meet the Silver level requirements of the Guideline.

The report goes on to suggest that in light of conservative estimates for new housing starts per year at approximately 140,000, the initial goals of the National Dialogue have not and will not be met. That even with the limited data available, it was clear that the housing industry has not responded to the voluntary scheme and that without sufficient incentives little progress is likely to be seen in future.

ANUHD and RI Australia’s recommendations following their review were for Government to continue supporting and evaluating the stated targets, but also assess the impact that minimum features to all housing being adopted would have on individual residents as well as on cost projections of home modifications and funded services for older people and people with disabilities. Where the target of Silver level features to 50% of new housing is not achieved in 2015, their recommendation is that minimum access requirements for housing be incorporated into the BCA as a priority.

In more positive news for the scheme, soon after the publishing of the report Grocon announced that they will commit to all future Grocon residential developments meeting the Livable Housing Design Guidelines. Maybe a change is yet to come?

George Xinos
Functional Access Solutions

George Xinos of Functional Access Solutions will be co-presenting a whole day workshop focusing on bathroom modifications with Occupational Therapist, Alison Schneider.

The workshop is part of the Yooralla's Assistive Technology Learning program and will be held on Tuesday 24 June 2014  at The Independent Living Centre, 705 Princes Hwy, Brooklyn, Victoria.

Learning outcomes include:

• Increased knowledge about bathroom design and prescription
• Increased confidence in designing & reading plans of bathroom modifications
• Increased knowledge about what to look for when choosing common fittings and fixtures
• Increased knowledge of relevant Australian Standards & BCA
• Problem solving challenging bathroom modification situations
• And more…

For more information or to book your place at the workshop please visit the Yooralla Assistive Technology Learning website.

The term assistive technology means little to a mainstream audience however has become a very identifiable term within the disability sector. Over the past decade it has gradually become the umbrella term that represents assistive, adaptive and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities. The aim of assistive technologies is to extend people’s independence as much as possible by enabling them to perform tasks which would otherwise have been difficult.

By definition the term it is extremely broad and can incorporate equipment as varied as mobility devices, hearing augmentation, software and hardware for computer interfacing, even design and modification of the built environment, to name just a few.

Beyond the effective design of traditionally recognizable building elements however, what is its relevance to building designers, managers, owners, occupiers and the like, and what opportunities exist?

Previously much of the technology was customized to a particular group of users. This however appears to be changing quickly. Mobile devices and tablets are now being produced with alternative access options included at the point of sale. Alternatively, cheap and readily available apps and modifications can be applied to make mainstream mobile devices accessible to a much broader user group. With this so too does access to other mainstream assistive technologies.

Home and building automation is not a new concept but of course has very significant benefits for people with mobility, strength and movement difficulties. Switching on lights, televisions, and a whole host of other devices via a more usable interface assists people of varying needs to interact with their environments with greater freedom, ease and independence.

Significant building automation systems in the past have also often required extensive hard wiring making installation or retrofitting costly and often complicated. The proliferation, simplicity and availability of technologies such as Wi-Fi, Over IP (Internet Protocols) and radio wave have largely removed or at least significantly reduced this issue.

By extending these systems to include other devices such as varying types of receivers, actuators and motors a great deal can be achieved. The applications range enormously from operating doors, windows and blinds which were otherwise inaccessible, to automatically lighting paths to a destination in darker parts of a building; the later of course also having significant ESD and safety implications.

The recognition of governments and policy makers that an aging society will require far higher levels of health-care support into the future has encouraged many to embrace some of these concepts and technologies. Maintaining independence at home and within their existing social and physical environments may prevent or delay the need to move to a costly health care facility. In some instances it may reduce carer time required to support individuals in their existing environments. The idea of a Smart House has emerged as a result.

A smart home incorporates many of the ideas alluded to above but can extend to other areas which have implications to other building sectors such as aged care. Unobtrusive systems can be incorporated to monitor people’s health and wellbeing. This may include movement detectors at key times to assist with recognizing whether people have sustained a fall or an event which has made them immobile and at risk; emergency calls or alarms in the event that a gas stove has been left on or a bed has not been evacuated by a certain time; timers and alerts for important functions such as medications.

The concept of Telehealth also interacts with these systems in that people with various conditions are afforded better access to health professionals and other supports from their within their home, while also participating in other related activities. An example being that users will be able to test and record their vitals (e.g. sugar levels, blood pressure, etc.) and have it transmitted to the monitoring facility or organization, or in some instances a friend or relative if appropriate.

This is a rapidly evolving area which should see great innovation and growth in the years to come. The introduction of the NBN has encouraged some important discourse relating to Telehealth to emerge but the implications of course are far greater than Telehealth alone. Notwithstanding this, significant benefit can be achieved now with the right foresight, expertise and support.

George Xinos
Functional Access Solutions

Livable Housing Australia (LHA) was formed in 2011 as a partnership between community and consumer groups as well as government and industry. The partnership arose from the Kirribili Dialogue on Universal Design for housing which was undertaken to assist with the formulation of a set of guidelines for the creation of more ‘livable’ homes.

The Livable Housing Design Guidelines were consequently developed and promoted. The aim of these are to produce homes which are easier and safer to use for all occupants inclusive of people with disabilities, older people, people with temporary disabilities and families with young children. They state that a ‘livable home is designed to:

·         Be easy to enter and exit;
·         Be easy to move around in;
·         Be capable of easy and cost effective adaption; and
·         Anticipate and respond to the changing needs of home occupants.’

Three performance levels are identified under the guidelines – Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. Silver is the least onerous and focuses on key spatial elements allowing for future adaptability of the home at far lower cost to the occupant. Gold allows larger circulation to key areas within the home and extends to other areas such as the kitchen and bathroom. Platinum circulation requirements increase further still and includes additional features such living room and flooring guidelines.

Earlier this year LHA established a system of accreditation of homes under their published guidelines. LHA are responsible for the accreditation of dwellings under this system, and issues their quality mark in accordance with the performance level achieved. The LHA quality mark can then be used by the developer to assist with the marketing of their project.

LHA uses a number of registered assessors to assess and gather information regarding the proposed home in order to enable accreditation decisions to be made. Registered assessors have suitable prerequisite qualifications and experience, have completed approved training and have successfully undergone an exam to confirm their competency. They are directly appointed by applicants wishing to gain accreditation of a project.

Two stages of accreditation also apply within the process. A provisional quality mark can be gained for a project during the design phase. The final quality mark is only issued once the building has been completed and assessed by a registered assessor. It should also be noted that where existing homes meet the LHA guidelines, these could also gain the final quality mark through the same process.

LHA envisages that by the year 2020 all new residential dwellings will achieve at least the Silver Level accreditation.

For more information about the accreditation process visit LHAs website at http://livablehousingaustralia.org.au/.

George Xinos of Functional Access Solutions is a LHA Registered Assessor and can be contacted to assist with assessment and ultimately gaining accreditation for any aspiring projects.

George Xinos
Functional Access Solutions

A 'livable' home incorporates specific features that aim to make it easier and safer to live in for all occupants. This includes people with disabilities, older people, families with children, as well as people with temporary injuries.

"A livable home is designed to:

• be easy to enter and exit
• be easy to move around in
• be capable of easy and cost effective adaptation, and
• anticipate and respond to the changing needs of home occupants."

Livable Housing Australia can issue a quality mark for homes they have accredited. Assessments are undertaken by a Registered third party Assessor and can occur at at the design or 'as-built' stage.

Contact us at 1300 377 327  or info@functionalaccess.com.au to have George assess your project for you.
LHA registration number - 10030

On September 19 2012 Livable Housing Australia (LHA) was launched, an organisation bourne out of the Kiribilli dialogue on Universal Housing Design and comprised of a partnership between consumer groups, government and industry.

LHA aims to champion the mainstream adoption of livable housing design principles in all new homes in Australia and has recently published a set of guidelines to assist in achieving this. Different levels of livability are set out in the guidelines and they intend to guide the creation of homes that are easier and safer to live in for people of all ages and abilities.

For more information or to gain a copy of the guidelines visit http://www.livablehousingaustralia.org.au.