House Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Inquiry into the draft Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards Please note: the information on this page is also available in PDF format. To view the information in this file format you will need Adobe Acrobat® PDF Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe®. For more information see Accessing files.

10 March 2009

Accessible Buildings – an issue for all Australians. Public hearing in Canberra on 12 March

The House Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee will conduct a public hearing for its inquiry into the Draft Disability (Access to Premises — Buildings) Standards 2009 in Canberra on Thursday 12 March 2009.

Representatives from the Australian Building Codes Board and the Commonwealth Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research will discuss the technical aspects of the Standards.

The Committee Chair, Mark Dreyfus QC MP, said, “The Committee is looking forward to hearing about the operation of the Standards, as well as the relationship between the Standards and the Building Code of Australia.”

The ACT Planning and Land Authority will also be appearing at the public hearing. The Committee Chair, Mark Dreyfus QC MP, said, “The Standards are an important step towards ensuring that buildings are accessible for all Australians. The Committee will be considering whether the Standards should provide access to common areas of Class 2 buildings (such as apartment buildings) as suggested by the ACT Government.”

The Committee has been asked in inquire and report on the following terms of reference:

1. The appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed Premises Standards in achieving their objects.
   

2. The interaction between the Premises Standards and existing regulatory schemes operating in state and territory jurisdictions, including the appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed Model Process to Administer Building Access for People with Disability.
   

3. Whether the Premises Standards will have an unjustifiable impact on any particular sector or group within a sector.
   

Details of the hearing:

Date: Thursday 12 March 2009
Time: 9:30 am – 11:00 am
Location: Committee Room 1R3, 1st floor, Parliament House, Canberra
Witnesses: Australian Building Codes Board and the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research, followed by the ACT Planning and Land Authority

Full program details are available.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the public hearing, or listen to the broadcast on FM 96.3 in Parliament House, and via webcast on the APH website.

Accessibility: Please contact the Committee Secretariat for information about accessibility at public hearings.

Additional media information

For interview, contact the Committee Chair, Mr Mark Dreyfus QC, MP on (02) 6277 4305 (Canberra) or in his electorate on (03) 9769 1955; or Mr Dreyfus’ media adviser, Tim Lisle-Williams on 0431 178 280.

For background information, including the full terms of reference, please visit the inquiry website at www.aph.gov.au/laca or contact the Committee Secretariat on (02) 6277 2358.

Related link

• Printable version of this media release (PDF 38KB)

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