Building: Refurbished commercial warehouse: Class 9b indoor play centre and new amenity areas to vacant tenancies
Location: Inner south Melbourne
NCC edition: NCC 2022, Volume One
Area of NCC requirements: F4P1 sanitary facilities (F4D4); D1P1 and D1P2 access and safe movement (D3D16, D4D2, D4D3, D4D4, AS 1428.1)
Raised by: The relevant building surveyor, referred by the builder after the works were built
Year: 2026
The challenge
Two built items did not match the Deemed to Satisfy Provisions. In the play centre, the basins were two shared wash troughs outside the male and female toilets, not basins allocated to each sex. Across the building, three new amenity areas sat 60 to 65 mm above the warehouse slab to give falls to floor wastes. That left a step at each door, well over the 35 mm threshold ramp limit.
The performance solution
Expert judgement and comparison with the Deemed to Satisfy Provisions. A Performance Based Design Brief was accepted by the building surveyor and signed by the owner, tenant, designer and builder first.
Shared wash troughs. Seven tap positions, three at child height, plus the basin in the accessible toilet (counted once for each sex) give 9 basin allocations against the 8 required. A shared area lets parents help children of either sex. Self closing doors stop sight lines into the toilets. Integrated tap dryers mean no door is touched after washing, and about 2 m of clear space allows for queues.
65 mm threshold. A fixed interim ramp at not steeper than 1:10, at least 650 mm long, replaces the step. It is flatter than the 1:8 threshold ramp the Standard accepts, needing about 20% less force to hold a wheelchair still. D3D16 already accepts step ramps up to 190 mm at external accessible doorways. The doors swing inward away from the ramp, so nobody opens a door while standing on the slope.
Conditions
Self closing doors that are never wedged open, all tap positions kept working, and clear signage. Each ramp must be full door width with flared sides, fixed down, rated for powered wheelchairs, P4 slip resistant, with 30% luminance contrast strips top and bottom. The redundant floor waste is removed, and a ramp may only come out once tenant floor finishes give a compliant transition.
Outcome
Final report issued in November 2026 under an accepted Performance Based Design Brief, and successfully accepted by the relevant building surveyor.
Lesson for refurbishments
A Performance Based Design Brief agreed with the building surveyor and stakeholders before the report is written makes as built departures much easier to resolve. Plan the floor build up of wet areas against the existing slab early, so a step is not built into every door.
Related: Access performance solutions | Performance solution report
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