Disabled access in child care centres
Until recently, child care centres were not specifically designed to meet the needs of disabled children. They have had to provide disabled access facilities as part of the State Government’s licensing regulations. The regulations relate to wheelchair access; ramps and landings; door widths; continuous travel paths and corridor widths; parking spaces and garages; and lighting and alarm systems.
Disabled children have the same rights and privileges afforded to the non-disabled members of our community.
The Commonwealth Disabilities Discrimination Act provides the guiding principles to provide equal access to all disabled persons, no matter what type of disability is involved, and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission provides the forum to have existing discrimination removed.
State Government land use planning strategies and local Council’s design guidelines seek to correct this imbalance by requiring that disabled access and related facilities are provided to all new buildings and existing building alterations and additions, including child care centres.
Wayne Boyle, principal consultant of Australian Disabled Access Consultants says, “All property owners, property managers and child care centre business operators should provide and maintain disabled children’s access opportunities and related facilities within their premises at all times.
“Child care centre operators should carry out regular audits to ensure that the centre layout and equipment areas do not interfere with disabled access.”
25-Jul-2006