More housing options for people with disability

The Minns Labor Government will significantly expand accessible housing options for people with disability thanks to NSW Housing Pattern Book designs that uphold industry standards for accessibility and adaptability.

All NSW Housing Pattern Book designs will at least meet the requirements of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Liveable Housing Design Standard, which has been adapted from the silver level Liveable Housing Design Guidelines.

Silver level core design requirements include:

• a step-free path from the street entrance to the home.
• bathrooms with showers flush with the surrounding floor level.
• internal doors or corridors which offer comfortable and unimpeded movement between spaces.

In addition, all mid-rise apartment buildings between three and six stories will also include a minimum of 10 per cent adaptable homes.

An adaptable home is designed to make it easy to modify parts of the home, such as kitchen, laundry, or bathroom, to meet the changing needs of the residents.

The NSW Housing Pattern Book is part of the Minns Labor Government’s commitment to increasing housing choice and making NSW more inclusive and accessible for people with disability.

We’ve already made significant investments to improve disability inclusion across NSW Government services including:

• investing $800 million to upgrade public transport accessibility.
• expanding disability support classes in schools, with 243 new support classes established this year.
• making the largest ever investment in silver-level accessible housing in the State’s history, with 8,400 new social homes being built through the government’s $5.1 billion investment in public housing.

The NSW Government will launch the Pattern Book technical designs in mid-2025. The pre-approved housing designs will be accompanied by a fast-track planning pathway to support speedier construction.

For more information on the NSW Housing Pattern Book please visit NSW Housing Pattern Book.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:

“The NSW Government is focused on building well-designed modern homes that can adapt to the needs of people and families, regardless of their abilities or stages of life.

“This requires bold and innovative designs for terrace houses and mid-rise apartments that meet rigorous standards, and the NSW Housing Pattern Book is providing an important blueprint for achieving these standards across NSW.

"These world class designs will play a crucial role in increasing the supply of housing in NSW so that more people have homes that meet their needs.”

Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington said:

“We’re making sure that more new homes will be accessible to more people by embedding accessibility standards into the NSW Housing Pattern Book designs.

“The NSW Housing Pattern Book reflects the Minns Labor Government’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis while making our communities more inclusive and accessible for all.

“With these new designs and planning processes, we’ll be delivering what communities across the state desperately need – more places for more people to call home.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion Liesl Tesch said:

“Enhancing access to broader scale inclusive housing is such an important next step in the NSW Government’s commitment to increasing accessible housing supply across our communities.

“People with disability have been calling for a focus on accessibility in the housing design process for decades. Ensuring that accessibility standards are embedded in the NSW Housing Pattern Book designs is critical in making inclusion a must-have for future housing investment.”

Government Architect NSW Abbie Galvin said:

“Patterns catering to accessibility and gaps in the market, including intergenerational and family friendly housing, will be a feature of the designs in the NSW Housing Pattern Book.

“This allows people to remain in their homes for longer and reduces the likelihood of having to relocate to alternative housing, which can cause significant disruption and break community ties.”