Deciding what to buy
Accessibility and future fit
Step-free access, adaptable design, and what your household might realistically need in five or ten years — not just today.
- Australia's Liveable Housing Design Guidelines define silver, gold and platinum performance levels for accessible, safer housing.
- AS 4299-1995 guides designing homes adaptable for a resident's changing physical needs over time.
- Step-free entry, an entry-level bedroom and bathroom, and doorway widths are worth checking in any property, not just ones built to these standards.
- Future-fit means considering how easily a home could adapt later, not just current household needs.
Liveable and adaptable design
Australia's Liveable Housing Design Guidelines define three performance levels — silver, gold and platinum — ranging from basic requirements through to best practice, aimed at making homes easier and safer to live in for people of all ages and abilities (Australian Government (Your Home), verified 29 Jul 2026). A separate standard, AS 4299-1995 (Adaptable housing) (Australian Government (Your Home), verified 29 Jul 2026), guides designing homes that can be modified later to meet a resident's changing physical needs — starting from the premise that a home should be accessible to a visitor using a wheelchair, and adaptable for an occupant using one.
What to check in an existing property
Most existing homes weren't built to these standards, but the underlying features are worth checking regardless: step-free entry, a bedroom and bathroom on the entry level, doorway and hallway widths, and whether future modifications (grab rails, ramps, wider doorways) would be straightforward or require major structural work.
Planning for five and ten years
Household needs change — children, ageing parents, reduced mobility, working from home — and a property's ability to adapt without a costly major renovation is a genuine, if easy to overlook, factor in how well it will keep suiting you.
Practical checklist
Assessing accessibility and future fit
- Check for step-free entry and an entry-level bedroom/bathroom option
- Note doorway and hallway widths relevant to future mobility needs
- Consider how easily the layout could accommodate a future household change
Relevant Delora tool
Questions for a professional
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- The liveable and adaptable home — Australian Government (Your Home) (retrieved 29 Jul 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.