Restaurants, cafes & disabled persons access
Until recently Australian restaurants and cafes were not designed or built to provide disabled access. They did not incorporate wheelchair access; ramps and landings; accessible door widths; continuous travel paths and corridor widths; parking spaces and garages; lighting; alarm systems; and toilets.
State Government land use planning strategies and local Council’s design guidelines seek to correct this imbalance by requiring disabled access and related facilities to all new restaurants and cafes.
The Australian Government is also considering draft changes to the Disabilities Discrimination Act to make building owners, property managers and tenants potentially liable to discrimination claims if disabled access and related facilities are not provided to new buildings and existing building alterations, approved after the Act’s gazettal date.
Wayne Boyle, Principal Consultant of Australian Disabled Access Consultants says, “Building owners and restaurant and café proprietors and managers should undertake regular building audits to ensure that disabled access and related facilities are provided and maintained.”
25-May-2006