In 2021, after decades of vigorous representation by the disability community and advocates, the Australian National Construction Code was revised to include mandatory accessibility standards for new domestic construction. The specifications were modest and practical, requiring new homes to comply with the Livable Housing Design Guidelines (Silver Level), which focus on the key structural and spatial elements that are critical to access, safety and the future adaptability of the house for a diversity of users, with or without a disability.¹ While initially hailed as a significant gain for more inclusive Australian housing, the potential efficacy of the standards was blocked by the unwillingness of three Australian states to enact the standards as legislation.²

The reluctance to uptake this NCC standard sheds light on two core barriers to resolving housing disadvantage within the Australian context. The first is that housing policy reform is almost always oriented to new