Housing
Victorian Universal Housing Alliance
Regulatory Impact Statement
Update 2/3/10
Please feel free to draw on this submission in preparation of your submission.
NB. Submissions are due by 5pm on 5 march 2010 and should be addressed to:
Annie McIntyre
Housing and Building Policy
Department of Planning and Community Development
GPO Box 2392 Melbourne 3001
email annie.mcintyre@dpcd.vic.gov.au
Frequently Asked Questions on the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS)
VUHA HOT LINE 0435464298Our hot line is available to you 24 hours a day If our team do NOT know the answers we will discover a solution.
Q. What is the Victorian government currently doing around housing alliance?
A. The Victorian Government (namely Minister Justin Madden and Minister Lisa Neville) formally released the Universally Accessible Housing Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) on 22 December 2009. Please see the below media release:
Department of Planning and Community Development
Media release (22/12/09)
PRACTICAL AND ACCESSIBLE HOMES FOR ALL VICTORIANS
The Department of Planning and Community Development is pleased to inform you that the Minister for Planning has released the Visitable and Adaptable Features in Housing Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS).
A public consultation on the RIS that examines the costs and benefits of implementing a Victoria specific variation to the Building Code of Australia is now underway. The proposed variation would mandate four accessibility features in certain new housing; the features are:
* a clear path from the street (or car parking area) to a level entry;
* wider doorways and passages;
* a toilet suitable for people with limited mobility on the entry level; and
* reinforced bathroom walls to allow grab rails to be fitted inexpensively if they are needed later.
The RIS examines mandating the low-cost accessibility features in all new single dwellings (BCA Class 1), and as flagged in the A Fairer Victoria 2007, all new ground floor medium density dwellings and one in five new high-rise dwellings (BCA Class 2).
The RIS analysis is predicated on the Government’s social policy commitment to equity and fairness and the significant community benefits to be gained from increasing participation, enabling people to remain in their homes as they age, or for people of all ages to return to their homes earlier after hospital care.
The RIS can now be downloaded from the Department of Planning and Community Development website at www.dpcd.vic.gov.au, or copies can be obtained by calling 1300 366 356. The public consultation period will be from the 22 December 2009 to the 5 March 2010. Details on how to make a submission are outlined on the inside page of the RIS document.
Thank you for your interest in this matter.
Q. What is RIS?
A. Regulatory Impact Statement
All new regulations in Victoria must undergo a cost benefit analysis by the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC) to ensure the regulation benefits Victorians rather than impose a financial cost on industry. The document appears to be what we were first promised close to nine months ago. It has however come with 190 pages of documentation which we will spend the next week or so. (Until the 18th January checking the detail for devils!)
Q. Who can answer my queries regarding this RIS Response?
A. you can contact the VUHA hotline 0435464298 24 hours a day.
Q. Who can write a response to RIS?
A. Any one can write a RIS Response. The Alliance is calling for responses in three categories:
2. Individual responses from people who have had to modify existing homes at huge financial expense. These RIS response will be even better if you can list itemized costs.
3. Individual responses from people who have built an accessible house. Responses should include a list of itemized costs; and, if possible, please include the social benefits for people with mobility issues.
Your RIS response is to be a professionally written document included statistics proven by relevant organisations like occupational therapists, individual municipal councils and aged care service providers.
As universal housing is also running concurrently as a national issue we encourage other state and national bodies to submit to the Victorian process. The better we clarify this now the better the national policy will be.
Q. “A RIS response from me! Won’t the experts submissions be enough”?
A. If you have searched out this page then you are an expert. We need to have the ‘dry’ economists who will assess all the RIS responses and make the final decision hear your stories. A single page of personal experiences helps. A single page from 99 people will be a considerable impression.
Q. When will I have to submit my RIS response?
A. Comments are to be in writing and be received by 5 pm on 5 March 2010 addressed to:
Annie McIntyre
Housing and Building Policy
Department of Planning and Community Development
GPO Box 2392 Melbourne 3001
email annie.mcintyre@dpcd.vic.gov.au
Q. When should I start my RIS response?
A. Please do not prevaricate- start your research now. Ask yourself the following questions: What is it that your client’s most need? What are their greatest difficulties?
Prepare a case study (preferably a real one) or if necessary an amalgam to illustrate a range of difficulties.
Q. How do you formulate and write a RIS response?
A. VUHA will be running workshops (in early February exact date to be confirmed) to train you in how to formulate and write a RIS response.
Q. Could I prepare a RIS response with other similarly placed organisations or individuals?
A. YES if your and a few similarly placed organisations would like to work/brain storm together at least at the beginning.
We will assist –you get the friends around the table and we will support your team. We are happy to do this pre or post the ‘how to…’ workshops. We are busy, so unless there are quite a few of you we won’t be able to send some one to facilitate. Just ring the hot line
0435464298 a speaker phone can be very helpful.
Q. “But now that RIS is published it’s a done deal- we have won, why bother?”
A. This battle is far from won. The building industry has fought a nine month behind the scenes rear guard action to stop the RIS from getting this far. You can be assured they haven’t finished their fight.
The VCEC system is a very ‘dry’ economic process where financial arguments will be preferred over emotive, moral or social considerations. We must fill the RISR with responses of all types.
Q. Why write our own RIS response, when I can just forward an emailed one you send me?
A. VUHA won’t be sending you or anyone else a preformatted RIS response. Original written responses posted by hand have a credibility that no copied document will ever have.
Make your experience count write your own response!
Q. Can I get the RIS document in other formats?
A. The RIS can now be downloaded from the Department of Planning and Community Development website at www.dpcd.vic.gov.au, or copies can be obtained by calling 1300 366 356.
Q. Should I be arguing for ‘extras’ in my RIS response?
A. YES! The most obvious missing need is an accessible shower. Both VUHA and the Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) have argued strongly for this since the campaign began. (Note that the RIS leaves the door firmly open, in fact it encourages submissions for accessible showers.)
Ideally we would like every submission to say:
‘But if I can NOT have a shower I will need to move to a nursing home any way.’
Q. Is there further reading that I can do to familiarise myself with the issue?
A. Here are a few sites plus the VUHA page has a few more. Check here again later we will add more as we find them.
PDF Icon Visitable and Adaptable Features in Housing RIS (PDF - 1.3 MB) DOC Icon Accessible Version - Visitable and Adaptable Features in Housing RIS (DOC - 1.0 MB) DOC Icon Accessible Version - Visitable and Adaptable Features in Housing RIS: Appendix 14 (DOC - 1.5 MB) DOC Icon Accessible Version - Visitable and Adaptable Features in Housing RIS: Appendix 15 (DOC - 1.5 MB) PDF Icon Visitable and Adaptable Features in Housing RIS - Final Assessment Letter - 10 December 2009 (PDF - 117 KB)
Copies of the RIS may also be obtained through Information Victoria on 1300 366 356 or email planning@diird.vic.gov.au.
Thank you,
David Brant
Executive Director
Victorian Universal Housing Alliance
VUHA
On 5 March 2009 the Alliance held a forum on the costs and benefits of universal housing in conjunction with the Victorian Local Governance Association. The forum was well attended with excellent presentations from Laurence Joseph, Chair, Victorian Government Accessible Housing Taskforce and Executive Director, Gandel Charitable Trust; John Durell, Project Manager, JG King Homes; Steven Baxas, Coordinator Building, Municipal Building Surveyor and Gary Spivak, Housing Development Officer,
Port Phillip City Council; and Jim Connor, Accredited Access Advisor and Auditor and Director, Baby Boomers and Beyond.
Speakers’ presentations are available at these links:
- Laurence Joseph’s presentation (DOC, 108KB)
- John Durell’s presentation (PDF, 24KB)
- Steven Baxas and Gary Spivak’s presentation (PPT, 6.2MB)
- Jim Connor’s presentation (PPT, 1.4MB)
The Victorian Universal Housing Alliance's job is to lobby for State regulation to increase Victoria’s stock of universal housing – housing which designed to reduce architectual impediments. To allow use of homes by all to the greatest extent possible. The Alliance is auspiced by VCOSS, the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA), Council on the Ageing (COTA), the Chronic Illness Alliance and the Housing Resource and Support Service.
Download the Alliance Platform
The design of most of Victoria’s housing makes it inappropriate for many people. Families with children in prams, people with a temporary or permanent injury or a chronic illness and anybody who has ever moved house will have been inconvenienced by narrow doorways, curved staircases and steps to the entrance of the house. Building houses with some simple universal design features makes them liveable for everyone, regardless of age, family needs, or the changes a person may experience during their lifetime. It also means that they are visitable by everyone, regardless of age or ability.
While there is already considerable unmet need for universal housing, the most urgent need comes from Victoria’s ageing population. According to Victorian Government projections, by 2031 around one quarter of Victorians will be over 65. Many of these people will acquire some sort of mobility impairment, as the likelihood of these increases with age. Most will want to live independently in their own homes, in their communities, for as long as possible.
It’s internationally accepted that well-designed housing reduces the risk of injury, ill health, and institutionalisation. Badly-designed housing however costs government – and taxpayers - millions of dollars each year in hospital admissions, home care, early aged care admissions and expensive modifications, many of which would be unnecessary if houses were built to universal design standards. In the discussion paper “Universal Housing, Universal Benefits”, outlines how the Victorian Government could save over $70 million in such costs each year if it were to implement universal housing regulation.
Download ‘Universal Housing, Universal Benefits’:
'Universal Housing, Universal Benefits' word format
‘Universal Housing, Universal Benefits’ pdf format
Victorian Government commits to regulating for accessible housing
On 14 April the Victorian Government committed to regulation that would make some key accessibility features such as a level entry and an accessible toilet mandatory for a significant proportion of new homes in Victoria. VCOSS and the Victorian Universal Housing Alliance welcomed this commitment as a strong step towards making Victoria’s housing liveable and accessible for all Victorians. For more information see VCOSS/VUHA release here and State Government media release here.
The Victorian Universal Housing Alliance was launched on 29 July 2008 by Cath Smith, VCOSS CEO. Speakers at the launch included: Dr Helen Szoke, CEO and Chief Conciliator of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission; Dr Amanda Hordern, Deputy Director, Cancer Information and Support Service; Cancer Council of Victoria; Ralph Edwards, State Secretary of the CFMEU, and Debra Dean, a local community representative and advocate. Read Debra Dean’s speech from the launch.
Cath Smith (VCOSS) at launch
VUHA launch audience
Ralph Edwards (CFMEU) at launch
The launch attracted much media attention, gaining coverage in The Age, the Financial Review, ABC Radio National, ABC Regional Radio, WIN TV and several Leader newspapers.
The Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/calls-for-housing-to-be-safer-for-the-elderly-20080727-3lqp.html
ABC Radio National transcript of interview with Cath Smith:
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2317046.htm
Moreland Leader article featuring Debra Dean:
http://www.morelandleader.com.au/article/2008/08/04/40320_cov_news.html
VCOSS invites organisations who support the objectives of the Victorian Universal Housing Alliance to sign on to join the Alliance and add their logo to the Platform. The more organisations who are members of the Alliance, and the greater the diversity of sectors represented, the stronger the message to the Victoria Government will be to take action now on this important issue.
To join the Alliance or for more information contact Rivkah Nissim at rivkah.nissim@vcoss.org.au or on (03) 9654 5050
Current Alliance members are:
Access for All Alliance
Action for Community Living
Aids and Equipment Action Alliance
Alcohol Related Brian Injury Australia Services (arbias)
Archicentre
Association for Children with a Disability
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU)
Australian New Zealand Association of Neurologists
Australian Vietnamese Women's Welfare Association
Beverley Garlick Architects
Borderlands Cooperative
Blind Citizens Australia
Brotherhood of St Laurence
Cancer Council of Victoria
Catholic Social Services Victoria
Chronic Illness Alliance
City of Melbourne
City of Port Phillip
City of Yarra
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
Council of Single Mothers and their Children
Council on the Ageing
Council to Homeless Persons
Dingley Village Community Advice Bureau
Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria
Housing for the Aged Action Group
Housing Resource and Support Service
ICLEI Oceania - Local Governments for Sustainability
Inner South Community Health Centre
Latrobe City Council
Mallee Accommodation and Support Program
Medical Scientists Association
Melbourne Affordable Housing
Melbourne CityMission
Mind (formerly Richmond Fellowship)
Moreland City Council
MS Society of NSW/Victoria
National Disability Services Victoria
North Yarra Community Health Centre
Occupational Therapists Association of Victoria/Australia
Paraquad
People with Disabilities Australia
Port Phillip Housing Association
Prahran Mission
Planning Institute of Victoria
Royal Australian Institute of Architects Victoria
Rural Housing Network
Shire of Yarra Ranges
Summer Foundation
Sunraysia Residential Services
Surf Coast Shire Council
Tenants Union of Victoria
Trades Hall Council
Travellers Aid Society of Victoria
UnitingCare Victoria and Tasmania
Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association
Victorian Council of Churches
Victorian Council of Social Service
Victorian Local Governance Association
Victorian Psychologists Association
Victorian Women with Disability Network
Vision Australia
Women's Housing Ltd
Wyndham City Council
Young People In Nursing Homes Alliance (YPINH)