Australian Disabled Access Consultants  was tasked with providing technical assistance for disabled access by the City West Church at its premises located at 71-77 Lords Road, Leichhardt.  

The Church requested Australian Disabled Access Consultants to provide technical assistance for disabled access into its premises for the disabled members of its community, which was required for a Building Certificate Application under the NSW Local Government Act 1993 put up before the Leichhardt Council. The Council required an Accessibility Report as part of the technical documentation for the application.  

Committed to improving disabled access within local communities and community education of needs of disabled persons, Australian Disabled Access Consultants carried out disabled access building audit inspections of the Church for compliance with:  

  • Leichhardt Development Control Plan 32 – Design for Equal Access (DCP32)
  • Parts D3 and F2.4 of the Building Code of Australia 2011 (BCA)
  • Disability Access to Premises Standards 2010 (Access Code)
  • Australian Standards AS1428.1-2009 and AS2890.6-2009 guidelines
The City West Church is located within an established industrial unit complex. Australian Disabled Access Consultants inspected the existing Church premises, the allocated parking spaces, and the external pathways of travel from the street boundary and the allocated parking spaces to the Church’s front entry doorway in terms of:  
  • Pathways of travel including width, height, pavement, lighting illumination, floor surface slip resistance materials and tactile ground surface indicators
  • Doorway clear opening widths, door hardware and colour contrast for vision impaired parishioners
  • Stage and access ramp
  • Accessible toilet size, layout and fitments
  • Kitchen
  • Accessible parking spaces and pathway of travel to the Church’s entry doorway
Following the disabled access inspection, Australian Disabled Access Consultants found that the City West Church had generally complied with all guidelines except for the AS1428.1-2009 upgraded accessible toilet design guidelines but complied with the superseded AS1428.1-2001 guidelines that applied when the accessible toilet had been installed.

Australian Disabled Access Consultants appreciates the initiative of the City West Church for voluntarily providing safe, equal and dignified disabled access for its disabled community members within the Church building and its curtilage.  

Australian Disabled Access Consultants Principal Consultant expressed satisfaction at the proactive lead taken by able members of local communities in removing the physical, emotional and physiological barriers to improve access to all community facilities for their disabled friends.