“We’re not asking for much…we’re just asking to make sure we get our wheels in the front door,” said Northern Beaches resident Declan, who has cerebral palsy.
“It would change my life to have a fully accessible home. I feel abandoned by the NSW Government – they are disregarding the needs of people with disability and the basic human rights we have as citizens of NSW,” said Julie, a queer disability and youth advocate who lives in Dural.
Declan and Julie have joined the campaign to stop housing discrimination in NSW.
The campaign is now asking people to sign an open letter to NSW state political leaders calling on them to end the housing discrimination against people with disability and older Australians.
The letter will be delivered during a day of action in the NSW Parliament on 6 August.
While the NSW Government unveiled an ambitious new housing plan in its 2024-25 budget, it is refusing to sign up to national mandatory design standards that require new developments to offer basic accessibility.
This means there are fewer houses available in NSW for people with disability and older Australians.
The design standards are not difficult or expensive: they simply require developers to include things like a step-free shower and level entry to new houses. The Australian Building Codes Board modelling for these standards shows they would only add about 1% to the cost of a new build.