Why accessible parking has teeth and other marking does not
Most line marking is a maintenance decision. Faded bays are untidy, somebody eventually approves the spend, and nothing much happens in between.
Accessible parking sits somewhere different, because it is covered by two separate systems at once. There is the building side, where requirements come through the National Construction Code and the Australian Standards and are checked by certifiers and access consultants. And there is the discrimination side, where the Disability Discrimination Act creates an obligation that a member of the public can act on directly.
That second one is what makes it urgent. A complaint does not need a building surveyor or an inspection cycle. Anyone who cannot use a bay can raise it, and it arrives with a process attached.
The documents involved
Four things, and it is worth knowing which does what.
The National Construction Code sets out when accessible parking is required and how many spaces are needed, based on the building class and the total number of spaces provided. It is published by the Australian Building Codes Board.
AS 2890.6 covers off-street parking for people with disabilities. This is where the bay and shared area geometry lives.
AS 1428.1 covers design for access and mobility more broadly, including the continuous accessible path of travel that connects the bay to the entrance.
The Disability Discrimination Act creates the general obligation not to discriminate, and it is the mechanism behind most complaints. Meeting the technical standards is strong evidence but not an automatic defence in every circumstance.
All four are publicly available or purchasable, and any contractor working on accessible bays should be able to tell you which edition they are working to.
The elements that make a bay compliant
Deliberately described rather than dimensioned here, because dimensions change between editions and a number on a website is not something to build from. Confirm the figures with a certifier or the current standard.
- Bay size. Larger than a standard space in both width and length.
- Shared area. A marked zone alongside or behind the bay, giving room to transfer to a wheelchair or use a walking aid. It can be shared between two adjacent bays.
- Symbol. The international symbol of access, at a specified size, correctly oriented and positioned.
- Signage. Vertical signage identifying the space, which ground marking alone does not satisfy.
- Bollard. Required in some configurations within the shared area to stop it being parked in.
- Gradient. The bay and shared area must be reasonably level in both directions.
- Headroom. Relevant in covered car parks, since many accessible vehicles are higher than standard.
- Path of travel. A continuous accessible route from the bay to the entrance, without steps, kerbs or obstructions.
- Location. Accessible bays should be the closest spaces to the accessible entrance.
- Number provided. Set by the total number of spaces on the site.
What marking can and cannot fix
Being straight about this saves money.
Marking can fix: bay dimensions where there is room to widen, a missing or wrongly sized shared area, symbol size and placement, hatching, and relocating bays closer to the entrance where the geometry allows.
Marking cannot fix: gradient, a path of travel broken by kerbs or steps, insufficient headroom in a covered car park, or a site that physically has no room for the number of bays required. Those are civil and building works.
A contractor who takes the job and paints anyway, knowing the gradient is out, has taken your money and left the problem in place.
What to do if you have had a complaint
- Get the site assessed by an access consultant or building certifier, so you know what is actually non-compliant rather than what someone thinks is.
- Separate the fixable from the structural. Marking issues can usually be resolved quickly. Gradient and path of travel take longer and cost more.
- Get a scope and quote for the marking work. Having a costed plan changes the conversation considerably.
- Take legal advice on the complaint itself. That is not a contractor's role and not something to take from a website.
- Document what you do. Keep the assessment, the scope, the invoice and photographs.
If you are checking before anyone else does
Sensible, and much cheaper. A walk around with someone who knows the standard will tell you within half an hour whether your bays are broadly right. The obvious things to look at yourself: is there a hatched shared area beside each accessible bay, is there vertical signage, are the bays the closest ones to the entrance, and can someone get from the bay to the door without crossing a kerb.
If any of those four is a no, it is worth a proper look.
Check the current requirements before you rely on this
This page describes accessible parking and access requirements as they stood in September 2026. The National Construction Code and the Australian Standards are revised periodically, and what applies to a property depends on its building class, its age and the approvals it holds.
The authoritative sources are the National Construction Code, published by the Australian Building Codes Board at abcb.gov.au, and AS 2890.6 and AS 1428.1, available from Standards Australia at standards.org.au. For what applies to a specific site, speak to a building certifier or an access consultant. Where anything here differs from those sources, they are right and we are not.
We are not access consultants, certifiers or lawyers. Obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act are a legal question. If a complaint has been made, get your own advice.