2025 Livable Housing Design Standard (LHDS)  – Accessible & Inclusive Housing Guide Australia

What Is the Livable Housing Design Standard (LHDS)

The LHDS provides a set of technical provisions that, if complied with, enable dwellings to better meet the needs of the community, including older people and people with mobility limitations.

Livable housing design is about changing the way we design homes to make them easier to use and more adaptable to the changing needs of occupants. In practice, this means reducing steps where possible, more space in the bathroom, wider doorways, and providing for future adaptations such as adding grabrails.

This ABCB Standard is intended as a set of minimum necessary provisions, rather than as an exemplar of best practice, consistent with the role of the National Construction Code which calls up this Standard.

Main Differences: LHDS 2025 vs Earlier Versions

Now Formally Referenced in the NCC

The biggest structural shift is that the LHDS is no longer a voluntary guideline — it is now embedded in mandatory NCC requirements. The DTS Provisions refer to the ABCB Livable Housing Design Standard, which provides the technical details along with explanatory information to help understand why requirements are there and how to follow them correctly.

Phased Roll-Out Completing Across States

As of February 2026, the national baseline took effect from 1 October 2023 for Parts H8 and G7. Tasmania phased implementation with entry door widths from around 2024, and internal doors and corridors from 1 October 2025. Victoria came into effect from 1 May 2024. Queensland and the Northern Territory commenced from 1 October 2023.

Internal Door & Corridor Width — Now Mandatory

From 1 October 2025, new building work must comply with internal doors and corridors providing a clear opening width of 820mm, and at least one sanitary compartment must be provided on the ground or entry level of a Class 1a building, unless there are no habitable rooms located on that level.

Full H8 Compliance Deadline — 2026

From 1 October 2026, new building work is required to comply with all the requirements of Part H8 Livable Housing Design standards, with the exception of specified exemptions.

Ramp Clause Corrected (Version 1.3)

The Standard was re-issued with a correction to Clause 1.1(4)(a) which reverts the clause to the original text for the length of a ramp. The clause now reads: "the aggregate length of ramping (excluding landings) must not be more than…" replacing the previous "the interval between landings must not be more than…" This correction clarifies how step-free access path exemptions operate in practice.

Assessor Administration Transferred

Effective from 1 July 2025, Livable Housing Australia (LHA) handed over responsibility for the registration and administration of LHA Assessors to Access Institute. From that date, former LHA Assessors are no longer authorised to conduct assessments or certify designs/as-built dwellings under the LHA framework.

Why Choose the LHDS 2025 Guide

It Is Now Law, Not Optional

The Livable Housing Design Standard is now referenced within the NCC and introduces mandatory accessibility features in new homes, ensuring they are easier to access, safer to use, and adaptable for people of all ages and abilities.

Avoid Costly Retrofits

The estimated average cost of retrofitting an existing home to comply with the standard is around $20,000 for houses and apartments. In contrast, the average cost to ensure a new home complies with the same standards can be as little as 1 per cent of the average building cost.

Supports Broader NCC Reform Goals

These requirements form part of broader NCC reforms aimed at improving usability and accessibility in Australian housing.

Read in Conjunction with the NCC, Not in Isolation

The Standard should not be read in isolation — it and the NCC requirements fit together as a combined structure. Given the Standard contains most of the technical DTS Provisions, practitioners may think they don't need to check the NCC, but this isn't the case.

Benefits of LHDS 2025

Ageing in place

The changes help increase the stock of Australian housing that is adaptable and better able to meet the needs of older people and people with mobility limitations, supporting housing choice and reducing the cost of future adaptations as people's needs change over time.

Inclusive communities

People who are affected by the lack of suitable housing with accessible features will be able to leave hospital when they are ready, reducing the need for care services, and can live in their homes longer, close to family and friends.

Future-proofed investment

The LHDS ensures new houses and units are designed and constructed to be more accessible for everyone, including older people, people with disability, families with young children, and people with temporary mobility injuries, allowing people to remain in their homes as they age without the need for costly retrofits and adaptations.

Higher-value properties 

Homes designed with accessibility built into the core layout receive faster certification assessment outcomes and broader market appeal to a growing ageing population.

Voluntary Gold Standard also available

The Voluntary Standard is a set of non-mandatory technical provisions adapted from the Gold level of the Livable Housing Design Guidelines, enabling dwellings to go beyond the mandatory minimum.

Who Needs the LHDS 2025?

The ABCB Livable Housing Design Standard clearly states within its scope that it is not intended to achieve equivalence with AS1428.1. The provision for liveable housing is to accommodate ageing in place and people with reduced mobility.

This guide is essential for:

• Residential architects and building designers — must integrate LHDS into Class 1a and Class 2 designs from day one
• Builders and developers — required to construct to these standards in all states except NSW and WA (which are still considering adoption)
• Building surveyors and certifiers — must verify compliance with Parts H8 (Volume Two) and G7 (Volume One) before issuing permits
• Hydraulic consultants — LHDS bathroom and toilet space requirements intersect with NCC Volume Three plumbing provisions
• Access consultants and disability advocates — primary professional framework for advising on inclusive residential design
• LHDS Assessors — now registered through Access Institute (from July 2025) rather than Livable Housing Australia
• Homeowners and owner-builders — anyone building a new home or undertaking significant renovations in adopting states must comply