Programme: Age Friendly Demonstrators
WHO Theme: Housing
The guidelines are for anyone who is interested in making homes more Age Friendly, including practitioners involved in providing social housing for our ageing population, private developers and individual homeowners who wish to adapt their current home or move to a more suitable home.
An Age Friendly Home is a dwelling that is suitable for use across the lifecourse for people
of all ages. It is particularly suitable for older people whose needs often change as they
age. Age Friendly Homes incorporate key features such as level access and connection
to the outdoors. They are integrated into the neighbourhood and are capable of incorporating assistive technology to support ageing in place. Developing Age Friendly Homes helps to future proof housing for an ageing population.
This leaflet is applicable to all types of dwelling, such as houses (single and two storey) and
apartments. The features are relevant for the design of new accommodation but can also be used as a guide to assess existing homes and to plan their upgrading. These guidelines should be applied with consideration of the Design Manual for Quality Housing, published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The following recommendations are based on Universal Design principles and follow consultation with the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design [CEUD].
