Second review of the Premises Standards 2010: survey

AUSTRALASIAN RAILWAY
ASSOCIATION SUBMISSION

To the

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and
Resources
On

The Disability (Access to Premises – Building)
Standards 2010 Second Review
THE ARA
The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) is a not-for-profit member-based association that represents rail throughout Australia and New Zealand. Our members include rail operators, track owners and managers, manufacturers, construction companies and other firms contributing to the rail sector. We contribute to the development of industry and government policies in an effort to ensure Australia’s passenger and freight transport systems are well represented and will continue to provide improved services for Australia’s growing population.

The ARA thanks the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources for the opportunity to provide this submission to the Premises Standards 2010 Second review.

This submission has been developed in consultation with the ARA’s Accessibility Working Group which is comprised of accessibility representatives from the following ARA members:

- Department of Infrastructure, South Australia - Queensland Rail (QR)
(DIT SA)
- Sydney Trains / NSW Trains / Transport for New
- Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) South Wales (TfNSW)

- Public Transport Authority of Western Australia - V/Line
(PTAWA)
- Yarra Trams.
- Department of Transport, Victoria (DoT)

THE PREMISES STANDARDS
The rail industry continues to support the intent of the Disability (Access to Premises—Buildings) Standards
2010 (Premises Standards) and the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Transport
Standards). Australasian Railway Association (ARA) members are committed to ongoing programs to eliminate or reduce barriers to access public transport services. The rail industry recognises the rights of people with disability to participate in communities to their fullest extent possible and is acutely aware of the importance of accessible and inclusive transport services to people with disability.

The following responses have been developed in direct response to the survey questions.

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What has been your experience complying with the Premises Standards via the
National Construction Code?

The Rail Industry’s experience complying with the Premises Standards via the NCC can be grouped into the
following areas:

1 Applying the Premises Standards to Public Transport Buildings

Requirements for public transport buildings are currently in three regulatory instruments the Building Code of
Australia (BCA), the Premises Standards and the Transport Standards. The below responses highlight some of
the current complexities associated with the application of the Premises Standards to public transport
buildings.

1.1 Building Classes - 9b and 10a

Public transport buildings, except bus stops, are classified as Class 9b buildings (assembly buildings, including
places of public entertainment) under the National Construction Code (NCC). There is considerable ambiguity
as to whether a bus stop shelter or ferry wharf is considered a Class 10a building for the purposes of the
Premises Standard. The performance standards for accessible bus stops and wharves are clearly defined in the
Transport Standard and are not required to be duplicated or amplified within the Premises Standard.

The classification of public transport buildings as Class 9b buildings for the application of the Premises
Standards imposes requirements that are either difficult to achieve in public transport environments, do not
benefit transport customers or conflict with requirements in the Transport Standards. Examples of these
requirements include:

- Requirements for a balustrade along the edge of a rail platform when the platform height is greater
than one metre. This requirement cannot be implemented for obvious operational reasons.

- The 1200mm minimum unobstructed width for access paths cannot be met along the full length of
existing rail platforms, due to structural and technical constraints.

- Larger circulation spaces for wheelchair users around lifts and entrances which are difficult to
implement due to constraints of existing platforms, track alignments, narrow rail corridors and
surrounding infrastructure.

- Provision of wheelchair seating spaces in direct proportion to building capacity.

- Lighting requirements that are applicable in a closed building environment which are required in open
air transport precincts which may have adverse impacts to neighbouring properties and Crime
Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) by creating of overwhelming or disorienting visual
environments

It should be noted that historically some conflicts have been resolved through the inclusion of specific
transport requirements applicable under the Transport Standards in Part H2 of the buildings in comparison
with other class 9b and 10 buildings creates further ambiguity and confusion on compliance requirements.

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1.2 Building Classification Application in the Context of Emergency Egress including Fire Systems

The application of building classification requirements associated with emergency egress and location of fire
systems are complex in transport environments. This has been acknowledged as an area where specific
standards that take into account transport environments such as underground and open air railway stations is
required.

Examples of impractical requirements regarding emergency egress and fire systems within railway stations
include:

- Requirement for two points of exit on existing station platforms and concourses. Many platforms
include an exit into the track area, however this cannot be counted as an exit.

- Maximum allowable travel distances to an exit are too short when considering the lengths of train
platforms. For example, a typical platform length in NSW is a minimum of 180m in order to fit an 8-car
train.

- Provision of fire hose reels and fire hydrants on station platforms. There are other safety risks to
consider with regards to the placement of fire hoses and proximity to overhead wiring. For example,
Transport for NSW has developed operational procedures with emergency services to overcome the
need for hydrants on the platform through provision of hydrants outside the station.

- Fire isolated accessible evacuation refuge areas as a means of providing protection from the effects of
fire are achievable in large underground railway stations which utilise a combination of lifts, escalators
and stairs for access and egress. However, the numerous configurations and systems applied to
railway stations across the network do not allow this solution to be introduced at every location.
Active systems are more likely to be employed in these environments than passive fire-resisting
building elements.

1.3 Accessible Sanitary Facilities and Staff Facilities

The technical requirements of Part H2 of the Premises Standard relating to accessible sanitary facilities differ
significantly from the requirements for these facilities outlined in Part F2.4. While there is a concession under
Section 4.5 of the Premises Standard for existing accessible sanitary compartments that have been built to
comply with AS 1428.1—2001, Design for access and mobility (the relevant requirement under Part H2), this
concession will not apply to new works, leaving the requirement ambiguous.

With regards to ambulant toilets, currently only male and female ambulant toilets are acceptable under the
NCC requirements, Part F2.4. Space constraints in transport environments often mean that the provision of
unisex facilities is preferred. Currently, in each station upgrade or new build, a performance solution is required
resulting in additional costs.

Further, requirements intended for areas of public use are not always appropriate for other areas such as those
occupied by operational staff. This includes work environments such as sub-stations and stabling yards. People
with physical disabilities are unlikely to meet the job requirements due to the safety implications associated
with having limited mobility in an operational rail environment. As all operational rail staff are required to meet

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as a minimum a Category 3 Health Assessment, there is no reasonable requirement for staff facilities such as
toilets and offices to be wheelchair accessible.

1.4 Alignment of NCC and Premises Standards to Transport Standards

There are mechanisms in both the NCC and Premises Standards that do not align to other requirements in the
Transport Standards. For example, in application of the NCC, performance solutions can be applied where
prescriptive requirements cannot be met. Alternatively, the Transport Standards offers the Equivalent Access
provision in Part 33. Both mechanisms offer different verification methods to potentially achieve similar
outcomes.

Other examples of areas where the Premises and Transport Standards do not align include:

- The height of a ramp can only be a maximum of 3.8m high before triggering the requirement for a lift
within the Premises Standards is not applicable in the Transport Standards.

- The Transport Standards requirement for all entrances to be accessible compared to the Premises
Standards requiring the principle pedestrian entrance plus 50% of all entrances or within 50m of non-
accessible entries for buildings larger than 500m2.

- Signage location and placement requirements.

It is important to note that modernisation of the Transport Standards is currently being led by the Queensland
and Commonwealth Governments. This will have an impact particularly on references of requirements such as
Australian Standards in both the Transport Standards and Part H2 of the Premises Standards. It is also an
opportunity to align requirements for public transport environments within both legislative instruments.

1.5 Compliance timetable and operation of the standards

There is uncertainty around the interaction between the compliance timetable for existing public transport
buildings under the Transport Standards requiring all transport buildings to achieve 100 per cent compliance
before December 2022 and the ‘building upgrade’ trigger which applies to all other premises. As complete
accessibility cannot be provided immediately, State based government agencies and rail operators have been
coordinating their efforts to upgrade facilities in a staged manner. Prioritisation for access upgrades is based
on a number of factors. Owners of other buildings for public use are not required to bring buildings into
compliance within a given timeframe, but rather rely on the natural upgrade cycle.

It is currently ambiguous regarding what extent of works are required to trigger other upgrade environments.
It is also unclear as to when maintenance or minor works trigger requirements to apply the Premises Standards
to the affected area, or the whole station. The trigger requirements may result in additional works being
undertaken to meet compliance with other parts of the Premises Standards which reduces the funding
available to deliver upgrades to assist people with disability to access transport services. An example was
previously provided above in relation to the potential upgrade of operational staff facilities when upgrading
customer amenities.

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The current system is also administratively cumbersome as Exemptions must be sought separately under Part 4
of the Premises Standard and Part 33A of the Transport Standards. As the limitations to applying the
Transport Standards apply equally to the requirements of the Premises Standard, existing exemptions granted
under the Transport Standards should automatically apply to the same requirement under Part H2 of the
Premises Standard.

It is also worth noting that the necessity of reading the performance requirements set out in Part D of the
Premises Standard in conjunction with the NCC is not well understood. A number of BCA functional
requirements for access and egress impact on the installation of other accessibility features. For example,
minimum requirements for access and egress stair widths can reduce the area of platform available for access
pathways and circulation spaces. This is a particular issue for legacy infrastructure which typically have island
platforms that curve and narrow at the ends. Modification of these legacy platforms to accommodate
additional circulation and access path spaces are costly and technically difficult to achieve, particularly at
underground station locations.

1.6 Performance Solutions and Unjustifiable Hardship

While it is arguable that areas of non-compliance particularly in rail environments, fall under the “unjustifiable
hardship” and “equivalent access” provisions of the Transport Standards, the uncertainty creates significant
difficulties for transport providers.

The rail industry notes that there is currently no legal precedent to assist in defining the extent of unjustifiable
hardship permitted for government transport operators and providers in the rail environment. While efforts
are directed to achieving the maximum extent of compliance possible, the lack of certainty over the
interpretation of ‘unjustifiable hardship’ is a hindrance to decision-making on high cost capital works. Full
compliance with the Premises or Transport Standards may not be achievable due to a range of factors,
including cost, local topography, operational safety and heritage constraints associated with particular sites.

Requirements solely in the NCC can have performance solutions which require justification. This covers
requirements that are not included in Part H2. The deemed-to-satisfy parts of the NCC (other than Part H2)
often do not have requirements relevant to public transport buildings and often a performance solution needs
to be developed. Performance solutions under the NCC and other arguments applicable under the Premises
Standards such as unjustifiable hardship need to be made. This has negative cost and time impacts for
projects.

Further, if a performance solution or unjustifiable hardship is applied, it is often unclear how these elements of
the transport environment should be captured in compliance reporting and future recertification.

Where do you see opportunities for improvements in the Premises Standards?

The Rail Industry has identified the following opportunities for improvement in the Premises Standards:

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1 Building Class

In relation to building class, the rail industry recommends that railway stations and transport interchanges are
considered for a specific classification in the NCC. As discussed above, the current 9b requirement introduces
minimum requirements above what is required to design an accessible transport system. Further, better clarity
is required regarding the exclusion of bus stops and ferry wharves from Class 10a buildings – non inhabitable
structures.

A separate classification would assist in resolving the current ambiguity regarding categorisation of buildings
and parts of builds which have conflicting requirements or are subject to different interpretation.

It would be an opportunity to better define requirements that may apply for different transport environments
such as open air platforms versus underground stations. This directly relates to the points made above with
regards to approaches to emergency egress and fire systems.

There could also be benefit in the provision of requirements that could be applicable for existing legacy assets
that do not compromise the level of accessibility for people with disability when particular constraints exist.

2 Alignment with other standards

Requirements for public transport buildings are currently in three regulatory instruments, the BCA, the
Premises Standards and the Transport Standards. Having all requirements in one place, using the same
terminology and consistently addressing issues with other areas is a necessary improvement that would
benefit all stakeholders.

There are different definitions of “infrastructure” and “premises” in Transport Standards and other legislation
pertaining to transport, environment and buildings, both at State and Federal levels.

As outlined above, consistent reference of Australian Standards between the Transport and Premises Standards
is required. It is important to note that the Transport Standards are currently being modernised which may
result in future conflicts. It is suggested that the two be reviewed concurrently to avoid this outcome. One
opportunity might be to remove references that are duplicated or simply cross reference relevant sections.

It is also important to note that some issues will not be addressed by simply harmonising the two sets of
Standards to remove or reduce inconsistency. For example, there are parts of the Transport Standards (e.g. 10
per cent coverage of hearing augmentation systems) and parts of the Premises Standards (e.g. 9 metre
distance between landings on a ramp) that should be retained. Detailed consideration is required to balance
customer outcomes with operational and rail safety requirements.

3 Performance Solutions, Unjustifiable Hardship and Temporary Exemptions

Clearer guidance on how to document and report on the application of performance solutions and
Unjustifiable Hardship is required.

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With regards to temporary exemptions, it is currently necessary to apply for the same exemption under the
Premises and Transport Standards. If a temporary exemption is granted under the Transport Standards this
should automatically extended to Part H2 of the Premises Standards.

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