Handrails and balustrades

Equal access
Requirements for the integration of equal access for all users
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines ‘premises’ as the whole of the built environment and includes existing buildings, new or proposed buildings, transport systems, car parks, pathways, and public parks and gardens.
Note: Consult an access consultant accredited by the Association of Consultants in Access Australia (ACAA).
Elements required for equal access
- Embellishments must be designed in accordance with AS 1428 Design for access and mobility.
- Avoid finished height difference between a concrete slab and adjoining surfaces to prevent trip hazards and to prevent ‘tramlining’ of pram, bicycle and wheelchair wheels.
- Handrails and barrier must be located outside of a continuous accessible path of travel (CAPT) for VIP’s, people who use mobility devices, wheelchairs, prams and for cyclist safety.
- Design stairs so that the run of stairs commence a minimum full stair tread width off the path of travel (to allow the handrails post to be positioned outside the path of travel).
- Handrails assist injured people, older people and disabled people.
- Handrails guide people with low vision.
- The ends of handrails must be designed and constructed to reduce the incidence of injury to pedestrians.
- Glare can be disabling for people with low vision. Avoid using highly polished surfaces such as mirror finish stainless steel when selecting materials for handrails which are exposed to high levels of natural or artificial lighting.
See Human Rights Commission publication The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Access: 2008 for further information.
Visual/sensory wayfinding
- For people with a vision impairment, provide a minimum 30% luminance contrast between objects and the background they are viewed against, for ease of identification.
- Where luminance contrast may not be achieved (such as grey aluminium furniture on grey concrete), luminance contrast can be addressed by introducing colour into the ground surface providing a minimum 30% luminance contrast with the embellishment base, resulting in the embellishment being more visible for people who have low vision.
This component is currently in development