Find answers to frequently asked questions for industry professionals, designers, and homeowners, clarifying the intent, application, and available compliance pathways for livable housing provisions.

I'm renovating my home, including new bathrooms, kitchen, reconfigured internal bedrooms (with an extension for a new bedroom), and a new sliding door to the outdoor area. Does this need to comply with the NCC's livable housing design requirements?

State/territory legislation specifies the extent to which renovation must comply with the NCC in force at the time of renovation. Therefore, you will need to contact your state or territory building administration for an answer to this question. 

Do the livable housing design provisions apply to common areas of an apartment building (Class 2)?

No. The Part G7 livable housing design provisions in NCC Volume One are applicable only to sole-occupancy units (SOUs) in Class 2 (apartment) buildings. Part D4 (Access for people with a disability) in NCC Volume One contains the applicable provisions for common areas and common accessways in Class 2 buildings. 

I’m building a new residential house on a sloping block. Does the NCC require me to build an accessible ramp from the front of my block to my entry to achieve compliance?.

Maybe.

NCC Volume Two H8D2 requires compliance with ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design and Clause 1.1(1) of that standard requires an access path to a dwelling entrance from the allotment boundary, a garage or carport, or a car parking space provided for the subject dwelling.

However, H8D2(2) contains a concession whereby an access path need not be provided in certain circumstances, such as where the average slope of the ground on which the access path would be constructed is steeper than 1:14 or where the dwelling’s entrance is at a level that necessitates excessive ramping (i.e. more than that specified in ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design Clause 1.1(4)).

Note, the NCC does not oblige a designer to design the dwelling’s level to enable provision of an access path.

Part 3 of the Livable Housing Design Standard (LHDS) requires internal doorways to have a minimum clear opening of 820 mm. Does this apply to all internal doorways in the home?

Not necessarily. Generally, most internal doorways will need to provide 820 mm clear opening width. However, the only doorways that must meet this specification are doorways that:
•    lead to habitable rooms on the ground or entry level,
•    lead to a laundry on the ground or entry level,
•    lead to an attached garage or carport from which access is required to comply with Clause 1.1 of the ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design, 
•    lead to a sanitary compartment on the ground or entry level that complies with Parts 4 and 6 of the ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design,
•    lead to a room containing a shower complying with Parts 5 and 6 of the ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design.
Accordingly, a dwelling design may incorporate internal doorways that are not required to provide 820 mm clear opening. For example, the following doorways need not meet this specification:
•    a doorway serving an additional sanitary compartment that does not comply with Parts 4 and 6 of the ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design,
•    a doorway serving a room containing a shower that does not comply with Parts 5 and 6 of the ABCB Standard for Livable Housing Design, and
•    a doorway leading to an attached garage or carport which does not form part of the access path to the dwelling,
•    a doorway serving a habitable room or laundry that is not on the ground or entrance level.

The applications box for Clause 3.1 of the LHDS refers to a 'habitable room or laundry on the ground or entry level'. If I provide 820 mm clear width to the laundry doorway, does that mean I don’t need to provide 820 mm clear width to any habitable room?

No. The lead in for this application clause requires 820 mm clear opening width for doorways that connect or lead to 'any of the following'. Accordingly, everything named in the applications list are rooms or areas for which doorways must be at least 820 mm wide, including where the room or area is listed in the same item.

The livable housing design requirements in the NCC requires an entry door into the dwelling. Does this mean the front door has to be accessible?

No. The designated entry door does not need to be the front door of the dwelling.  

The Livable Housing Design Standard (LHDS) requires that at least one entry door into the dwelling needs to meet the requirements. It can be any entry door into the house, provided the designated door connects to the step-free path in accordance with Clause 1.1(2) of the LHDS – for example, from the garage. 

Chapter 4 of the 'Livable Housing Design Handbook' provides further useful guidance on the requirements for the entrance door.

I’m building a new two-storey house. Do I need to provide a bathroom (including toilet and shower or bath) to both levels to comply with the Livable Housing Design Standard (LHDS)?

Part 4 of the LHDS requires that there must be at least one sanitary compartment located on the ground or entry level of a dwelling. Sanitary compartment is a defined term in the NCC, and refers to any room or space that contains a toilet. There is no requirement for a shower or bath to be provided on the ground or entry level.
This means that you do need to provide a toilet on the ground or entry level of your dwelling. However, you do not need to provide a shower or bath to this sanitary compartment or any room on the ground or entry level. 

Do the NCC livable housing design provisions allow a single-storey split-level house (e.g. with five steps splitting a level)? If so, is it an issue if those steps are between the designated entry and the sanitary compartment?

No. The livable housing provisions do not prevent split level designs.

Further, where the ground or entry level is a split level, the requirement in Clause 4.1 for the sanitary compartment to be provided on that level is met, regardless of whether it is in the same part of the level as the designated entry or not.

If a door from the house to the garage is used as the designated access to a dwelling (complying with Parts 1 and 2 of the Livable Housing Design Standard), is the driveway subject to gradient requirements of Part 1?

No. If you are using a door from the house to the garage that complies with Parts 1 and 2 of the Livable Housing Design Standard, the driveway from the allotment boundary is not required to meet Part 1. This is because Clause 1.1(1) permits access from the garage in-lieu of the boundary.

Why does the ABCB Livable Housing Design Standard differ from AS 1428.1, for example, in not requiring a 1500 mm by 1500 mm for changing direction between ramps but the livable housing standard does not?

The ABCB Standard has been adapted from the ‘Silver’ level requirements of the Livable Housing Design Guidelines, published by Livable Housing Australia, not AS 1428.1. Each document is designed for different purposes, which explains why differences exist. 

To reinforce my wall to support the future installation of grabrails, I want to use an alternative material to 12 mm plywood. Is this acceptable?

Clause 6.2(3) of the ABCB Livable Housing Design Standard specifies the following for wall reinforcement:

  • a minimum of 12 mm thick structural grade plywood, or similar
  • timber noggings with a minimum thickness of 25 mm
  • light gauge steel framing noggings
  • metal plate in accordance with the National Association of Steel-framed Housing (NASH) Standard.

If the alternative material is similar to 12 mm structural grade plywood, then it can be used under a Deemed-to-Satisfy Solution as per the first dot point above. For materials not listed that perform adequately, a Performance Solution can be used to show their suitability.

Do the clear opening widths of internal doors (Clause 3.1) and corridor width (Clause 3.3) requirements in the ABCB Livable Housing Design Standard apply to the path of travel to a shower compliant with Parts 5 and 6, regardless of floor level?

Yes. Part 3 specifies that minimum width requirements for internal doorways and corridors apply to the path of travel to the room containing the shower that complies with Parts 5 and 6, even if it is on a level that is not the ground or entrance level.

Note: The requirement for corridor widths does not apply to a stairway in the path of travel to the room containing a shower.

As part of a DTS Solution, can I provide a ramp within a garage space (i.e. through an internal garage access door) in order to meet the step-free path requirements in the ABCB Livable Housing Design Standard?

Yes. However, the ramp cannot encroach the parking space area required by Clause 1.2 (i.e. a 3200 mm x 5400 mm unobstructed car parking space). If a ramp is used to provide the required step free access to the dwelling, it must meet the ramp requirements set out in Part 1 of the Standard.