WHEN life throws something new at us – a baby, an injury, a disability, even old age – often our homes can’t keep up.

While all new housing must meet targets for energy efficiency, there are no standards for liveability or universal design.

However the Liveable Housing Design Guidelines, developed as part of a national partnership among industry groups, the community and governments, are about to change that.

The guidelines give three voluntary performance levels – silver, gold and platinum – and introduce core design elements to make a home safer and easier to live in.

At the silver level, the principles are commonsense – at least one level entry (step-free) into the house, an easy-to-access toilet on the ground floor and reinforced walls in the bathroom (for installation of grab rails, if needed) just to name a few.

Put simply, the design should allow for safe entry and easy navigation, and cost-effective adaptation so that the house can respond to the changing needs of its occupants.

International studies show it is 22 times more efficient to design a home for change than to retrofit later. And with the family home accounting for 62 per cent of all falls and slip-based injuries (costing around $1.8 billion in public health expenses), it makes sense to build a home that will be easier and safer to live in.

The ACT Government has already set a target for 2015, when 50 per cent of all new detached housing has to meet universal design guidelines (this will rise to 100 per cent by 2020).

Let’s see the ACT lead the charge to be first to adopt the new guidelines – ensuring that Canberrans have access to new homes that last a lifetime.

More information on the Liveable Housing Design Guidelines at livablehousingaustralia.org.au

Catherine Carter is ACT executive director of the Property Council of Australia.