Accessibility and Compliance Audits of Queensland Airports – Bamaga to Windorah and everywhere in between
Daniel Craddock, an Access Consultant in our Queensland office, was thrilled to be given a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Queensland on a 14-day whistle stop trip. Flying with Air Central West, across the vast State, from the desert in the west to Far North Queensland, and Torres Strait Island, in a 6-seater twin engine Beechcraft Baron aircraft, Daniel and his pilot set about undertaking access and compliance audits of 29 regional airports.
Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) understands the importance of compliance within these regional airports and engaged Architecture & Access to instigate the audits. Architecture & Access assessed the level of compliance against DSAPT (Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002, DAPS (Disability Access to Premises Buildings) Standards 2010 (Premises Standards) and provided recommendations to meet the objectives of the Disability Discrimination Act 1994 (DDA).
Comprehensive site-specific reports incorporating recommendations for access improvements and identifying access issues that presented potential sources of discrimination or non-compliance with the relevant legislation and standards were provided to TMR. The information captured will provide TMR with an overview of the degree of accessibility of the regional airports and assist councils and airport owners and operators in directing capital expenditure to achieve compliance and improve the degree of accessibility for all users.
The challenges of undertaking a project of this scale and uniqueness is unprecedented. Without the knowledge and experience of the pilot, it would have been insurmountable to asess 29 airports, and cover thousands of air-miles in such a short time. Daniel describes the experience as ‘epic, exhilarating and exhausting’ and looks forwards to the next opportunity equipped with lessons learnt and knowledge from such a unique experience.
Access Audits are vital in planning works and assessing the strengths and weaknesses in a single building or a range of facilities, including regional out of the way airports!
