Electrical (including lighting)

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.
- For electric equipment in Open Space (e.g. barbecues), install activation buttons with audible alarms to indicate the power is on, where possible.
- Power switches and controls on an ‘accessible path of travel’ must be located between 900 mm and 1.1 m above finished floor level and a minimum 500 mm from corners (except where increased height is required for child safety).
- At between 900 mm and 1.1 m a switch can be reached and operated by 90% of people who use wheelchairs and most other people with disabilities. This height is also comfortable for all members of the community.
- 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.
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.
- Incorporate activation push buttons which are high visibility colours (blue and white where available) to assist people with low vision.
Tactile legibility
- Switches and activation devices must be raised above the surface they are placed within.
- Switches must have a minimum 30% luminance contrast with the background against which they are viewed.
- Tactile surfaces which promote legible navigational information must be incorporated into switch plate design, such as a raised dot on the 5 key in a telephone keypad.
- Text which informs the public about operational requirements of accessible electrical infrastructure must be presented in a raised tactile format.
- Braille should be used to supplement critical operation information which is made available to the public, where this information is in a raised tactile format.
This component is currently in development