Introduction to Livable Housing
Livable Housing Australia (LHA) was established in 2011 and is a not-for-profit partnership between community and consumer groups, government and the residential building industry. LHA arose from the Kirribilli Dialogue on Universal Housing Design, which established nationally agreed guidelines on designing and building livable homes.
By designing and certifying your home to Livable Housing Australia standards, you open your house to a lifetime of living.
The Livable Housing Guidelines have been developed by both industry and the community and provide assurance that a home is:
Why consider a Livable Home?
Who benefits from Livable Housing?
Core Design Elements of a Livable Home
There are 15 livable design elements for a Livable Home. In order to receive a silver certification, the core elements (1-7) must be met.
Livable Housing Australia (LHA) was established in 2011 and is a not-for-profit partnership between community and consumer groups, government and the residential building industry. LHA arose from the Kirribilli Dialogue on Universal Housing Design, which established nationally agreed guidelines on designing and building livable homes.
By designing and certifying your home to Livable Housing Australia standards, you open your house to a lifetime of living.
The Livable Housing Guidelines have been developed by both industry and the community and provide assurance that a home is:
- Easier to access
- Easier to navigate
- Easier to live in,
- More cost effective to adapt when life’s circumstances change.
Why consider a Livable Home?
- 1 in 5 Australians currently have a disability of some sort. Out of this 4million (approx.) 320,000 are children.
- Research indicates a 60% chance that a house will be occupied by a person with a disability at some point over its life. This person is likely a parent, child, sibling or friend.
- The family home accounts for 62% of all slip and fall based injuries and costs the Australian population $1.8 billion in public health costs.
- The cost to the homeowner of including key livable housing design features (silver level) at design stage is 22 times more efficient than retrofitting when an unplanned need arises.
Who benefits from Livable Housing?
- Families with young children benefit from livable homes as it is easier to manoeuvre prams and strollers and trip hazards for toddlers are removed. By having wider doors and corridors it is easier to move furniture around a Livable Home.
- People who sustain a temporary injury benefit from livable homes, as it is easy to operate door handles and there is a step free pathway to all key areas of the home.
- An ageing population will benefit from a livable home, as the design accommodates future needs associated with the change in physical abilities due to age.
- People with a disability and their families benefit from livable homes because they allow them to take advantage of better housing choices.
Core Design Elements of a Livable Home
There are 15 livable design elements for a Livable Home. In order to receive a silver certification, the core elements (1-7) must be met.
- A safe continuous and step free path of travel from the street entrance and / or parking area to a dwelling entrance that is level.
- At least one, level (step-free) entrance into the dwelling.
- Internal doors and corridors that facilitate comfortable and unimpeded movement between spaces.
- A toilet on the ground (or entry) level that provides easy access.
- A bathroom that contains a hobless shower recess.
- Reinforced walls around the toilet, shower and bath to support the safe installation of grabrails later.
- Stairways are designed to reduce the likelihood of injury and enable future adaptation.
Performance Levels
Silver Level
Seven core livable housing design elements
Focuses on the key structural and spatial elements that are critical to ensure future flexibility and adaptability of the home. Incorporating these features will avoid more costly home modification if required later.
Gold Level
Enhanced requirements for most of the core livable housing design elements plus additional elements.
The gold level provides for more generous dimensions for most of the core livable housing design elements and introduces additional elements in areas such as the kitchen and bedroom.
Platinum Level
Some further enhanced requirements for the core livable housing design elements plus all remaining elements.
All 15 elements are featured in the platinum level. This level describes design elements that would better accommodate ageing in place and people with higher mobility needs. This level requires more generous dimensions for most of the core livable design elements and introduces additional elements for features such as the living room and flooring.
Next Steps
At Obvius Access we are certified Livable Housing Assessors and can assist you during both the design phase, as well as assessing the performance levels once built. We are also able to advise you about what potential modifications you could make to achieve a specific performance standard.
If you would like to hear more about livable housing design and how we can help please contact us on [email protected] or 1800 952 311.
Silver Level
Seven core livable housing design elements
Focuses on the key structural and spatial elements that are critical to ensure future flexibility and adaptability of the home. Incorporating these features will avoid more costly home modification if required later.
Gold Level
Enhanced requirements for most of the core livable housing design elements plus additional elements.
The gold level provides for more generous dimensions for most of the core livable housing design elements and introduces additional elements in areas such as the kitchen and bedroom.
Platinum Level
Some further enhanced requirements for the core livable housing design elements plus all remaining elements.
All 15 elements are featured in the platinum level. This level describes design elements that would better accommodate ageing in place and people with higher mobility needs. This level requires more generous dimensions for most of the core livable design elements and introduces additional elements for features such as the living room and flooring.
Next Steps
At Obvius Access we are certified Livable Housing Assessors and can assist you during both the design phase, as well as assessing the performance levels once built. We are also able to advise you about what potential modifications you could make to achieve a specific performance standard.
If you would like to hear more about livable housing design and how we can help please contact us on [email protected] or 1800 952 311.
