Action - Implement the accessibility plan - public buildings

The action outlined below will help achieve this outcome. This work was started under the existing Disability Action Plan.

10. Priority: Increase the accessibility for disabled people of the built environment and transport services

10 B: Implement the Accessibility Plan: Public Buildings.

Progress update to September 2018

Status: Minor risks to achieving milestones - Orange

MBIE has reallocated resourcing to ensure it makes significant progress on key phases of the Accessibility Plan, but action is behind original timelines. Further decisions on rephasing/reprioritising aspects of the Plan will be considered by early 2019.

Action Milestones:

Key messages agreed with DPOs November 2016 [completed]

Implementation Plan to be finalised [unknown]

MBIE’s management considered a proposed implementation plan to ensure progress is made on key deliverables in 2018. (January 2018)
The first intervention identified in the Accessibility Plan is a Guide to Accessible Public Buildings. This guidance has been identified as the key priority as it will enable MBIE to progress a number of other interventions identified in the Accessibility Plan. (Late 2018)
MBIE will reprioritise/rephrase the remaining aspects of the Plan in the first half of 2019 to incorporate any issues identified during the UN Periodic Review regarding accessible buildings and any issues identified during consultation with the sector and industry on the Guide to Public Buildings. (Early 2019)

Draft Guidance Document completed [June 2018]

MBIE has contracted Barrier Free New Zealand Trust, a national charitable trust, to consult with key stakeholders and develop the Guide to Accessible Public Buildings along with recommendations for promotion of the Guide.
The initial draft Guide was received by MBIE at the end of June.

Draft Guidance Document consulted on with the disability sector and building industry [June 2018]

Barrier Free undertook consultation and testing of the Guide with the disability sector and building industry between June and September 2018.

Sector awareness campaign [November 2018 to early 2019]

Details of the awareness campaign will be determined following consultation and feedback from the disability sector and building industry as part of the development of the Guide to Publicly Accessible Buildings.

Lead: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

DPOs lead: Blind Citizens, People First, Disabled People's Assembly.

Scope of action

1 Context: brief background, what is this action intended to achieve?

The Accessibility Plan: Public Buildings is a programme of work to achieve the intended goal of Equitable access to and use of publicly accessible buildings by all New Zealanders.

The plan arose out of a review into the effectiveness of legislation for accessibility of public buildings. The review was jointly commissioned by the Office of Disability Issues (ODI) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in late 2013. It was developed with input from an external Access Reference Group that was established to provide advice during the review.

The plan is structured around the four separate phases of building design, consent, construction, and occupation.

The first steps in implementing the plan is to review the problems and difficulties with achieving accessibility, develop and categorise actions to address the problems, then identify the expected outcomes of the actions and their impacts.

The review of the effectiveness of New Zealand building legislation for accessibility to public buildings concluded that problems largely arise from lack of understanding by property owners, developers, building designers, and building managers, about the need for accessibility and the needs of people with disabilities with respect to building accessibility. The plan is intended to provide information and experiences which will improve the levels of understanding among those who own, design, build and manage public facilities.

This is an action which is new to the Plan, but based on a prior mandate from the joint Ministry Review into the Effectiveness of New Zealand Legislation for Accessibility of Public Buildings.

2 Proposed scope

The purpose of this action is to provide building owners, designers, consenting authorities and managers with information, understanding and skills to fully comply with the requirements of the Building Act with the intention of achieving Equitable access to and use of publicly accessible buildings by all New Zealanders.

Included in the scope of this action are:

Development of general guidance material on accessible public buildings
Development and implementation of a plan to promote guidance on accessible public buildings
Development of guidance for building owners and developers on their obligations to provide accessible public buildings
Development of effective media messages on building accessibility for public information.
Development of guidelines on accessibility for building designers and consenting officials. These will include clarification of legal requirements on accessibility.
Development of design solutions for accessibility, including using standards and acceptable solutions to the Building Code.
Upskill designers and building officials through seminars and hosting on-line chat rooms.
Development and implementation of curriculum models for architecture and design schools and for architects’ continuing professional development modules.
Strengthening enforcement of compliance, developing confidence in building officials. Developing and implementing agreed sanctions for non-compliance.
Using media to raise consumer awareness of human rights for universal access.
Strengthening the regulatory system with up-dated and rationalised acceptable solutions to the Building Code. Updating the Building Code performance.

Excluded from the scope of this action are revisions to the Building Act and the Building Code. Technical updates to relevant Building Code clauses and their Acceptable Solutions will be included with guidance publications.

Implementation of the plan is scheduled for completion by 30 June 2018.

Draft outline for guidance - 31 August 2016
Plan to promote guidance - 31 October 2016
Education programme for building owners and developers - 30 June 2017
Education programme for building designers and officials - 30 June 2017
Programme for upskilling designers and officials - 30 September 2017
Strengthening enforcement and compliance - 31 March 2018
Strengthening the regulatory system - 30 June 2018

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will provide in-house building design and technical advice relating to the Building Act and the Building Code, in-house development of communications documents and programmes, briefing and commissioning of media and publications agencies.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is the lead agency for the project. Governance is shared with the Office of Disability Issues.

The Access Reference Group established for the development of the plan, will be referred to for advice on the progress of the plan.

Decisions on this action will be directed to the Disability Action Plan governance: DPOs and Senior Officials Group, and the DPOs and Chief Executives’ Group on Disability Issues.

This action is also responsible to governance arrangements for the Building Act and Building Code.

3 Contributors/partners with lead – who is involved in this action?

Developing the plan will proceed with direct reference to nominated representatives of The Association of Blind Citizens New Zealand, and Deaf Blind New Zealand. There is also an Access Reference Group with members representing the following organisations.

The Blind Foundation
CCS Disability Action
The Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand
Disabled People’s Assembly
Barrier Free New Zealand Trust
Invercargill City Council
Aged Concern
The Hearing Foundation
Acessible Options
Pynenburg and Collins Architects

The organisations listed above assisted the Office of Disability Issues and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in developing and drafting the scope of this action.

This action will be led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in partnership with the Office of Disability Issues. The organisations listed above will be involved in implementing this action. Also involved in implementing the action will be professional architecture, design and engineering institutions, building owners and managers institutions, building consenting authorities.

4 Reporting – key milestones/deliverables

The lead agency is responsible for reporting every three months to the Office for Disability Issues, as requested, on progress against milestones listed in this section.

5 Milestones

Develop draft outline for guidance on accessible public buildings - 31 August 2016
Implement plan to promote guide on accessible public buildings - 31 October 2016
Education programme for building owners and developers - 30 June 2017
Guidelines for building designers and officials - 30 June 2017
Upskill programme for building designers and officials - 30 September 2017
Strengthen enforcement of compliance - 31 March 2018
Strengthen regulatory system - 30 June 2018

6 Risks

What are the risk to progressing this action, and what mitigations will be put in place against those risks?

Risk: Delays in progressing some items of the programme through unavailability of suitable expertise. Mitigation: The programme is being progressed across multiple fronts so that resources can be reassigned to keep the overall programme on schedule.

Risk: Lack of cooperation from professional groups or consenting authorities. Mitigation: Wide consultation at the early stages for agreement and commitment.

Risk: Unavailability of media resources when scheduled. Mitigation: The programme will use a range of media to reduce the impact of one medium not being available for the programme

7 Impact – what are we trying to achieve?

The impact will be achievement of equitable access to and use of publicly accessible buildings by all New Zealanders

Measurement or evaluation of indicators.

Building owners and developers will have a clear understanding of the requirements of the Building Act as evidenced by their proposals for new building works and the management of their existing premises.
Building designers will submit Building Code compliant proposals for consent.
Consistent and informed building consenting on accessibility by building officials.
An effective regime for enforcement of Building Act requirements.

8 Evidence base

The programme of work is to address the findings of the review into the effectiveness of legislation for accessibility of public buildings which was jointly commissioned by the Office of Disability Issues (ODI) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in late 2013.

9 Related work

Designing for All – a disability awareness programme for designers. The Designing for All programme is supported by Think Differently, Ministry of Social Development; Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; Massey University.

Page last updated: 2.03.2019