Relevant Standard & codes

BCA & Australian Standards

Australian, New Zealand, British and Canadian standard specifications and design for raised Braille and Tactile signs are fully compatible All current Standard's Signs supplied by Braille Tactile Signs Aust. are fully compliant with BCA 2011 Volume One, Section D3.6, of the Building Code of Australia and Australian Standards AS1428.1.

Braille Tactile Signs Aust. are therefore fully compliant with requirements in these countries.
The following is an extract from National Construction Code (NCC) 2011 BCA Volume One - used with permission from the Australian Building Codes Board ABCB/NCC.

D3.7 Hearing augmentation

(a) A hearing augmentation system must be provided where an inbuilt amplification system, other than one used only for emergency warning, is installed—

  1. in a room in a Class 9b building; or
  2. in an auditorium, conference room, meeting room or room for judicatory purposes; or
  3. at any ticket office, teller's booth, reception area or the like, where the public is screened from the service provider.

(b) If a hearing augmentation system required by (a) is—

  1. an induction loop, it must be provided to not less than 80% of the floor area of the room or space served by the inbuilt amplification system; or
  2. a system requiring the use of receivers or the like, it must be available to not less than 95% of the floor area of the room or space served by the inbuilt amplification system, and the number of receivers provided must not be less than—
  • if the room or space accommodates up to 500 persons, 1 receiver for every 25 persons or part thereof, or 2 receivers, whichever is the greater; and
  • if the room or space accommodates more than 500 persons but not more than 1000 persons, 20 receivers plus 1 receiver for every 33 persons or part thereof in excess of 500 persons; and
  • if the room or space accommodates more than 1000 persons but not more than 2000 persons, 35 receivers plus 1 receiver for every 50 persons or part thereof in excess of 1000 persons; and
  • if the room or space accommodates more than 2000 persons, 55 receivers plus 1 receiver for every 100 persons or part thereof in excess of 2000 persons.

(c) The number of persons accommodated in the room or space served by an inbuilt amplification system must be calculated according to D1.13.

(d) Any screen or scoreboard associated with a Class 9b building and capable of displaying public announcements must be capable of supplementing any public address system, other than a public address system used for emergency warning purposes only.

D3.8 Tactile indicators

(a) For a building required to be accessible, tactile ground surface indicators must be provided to warn people who are blind or have a vision impairment that they are approaching—

  1. a stairway, other than a fire-isolated stairway; and
  2. an escalator; and
  3. a passenger conveyor or moving walk; and
  4. a ramp other than a fire-isolated ramp, step ramp, kerb ramp or swimming pool ramp; and
  5. in the absence of a suitable barrier—
  • an overhead obstruction less than 2 m above floor level, other than a doorway; and
  • an accessway meeting a vehicular way adjacent to any pedestrian entrance to a building, excluding a pedestrian entrance serving an area referred to inD3.4, if there is no
  • kerb or kerb ramp at that point, except for areas exempted by D3.4.

Tactile ground surface indicators required by

  • must comply with sections 1 and 2 of AS/NZS 1428.4.1.

(c) A hostel for the aged, nursing home for the aged, a residential aged care building Class 3 accommodation for the aged, Class 9a health-care building or a Class 9c building need not comply with

  • if handrails incorporating a raised dome button in accordance with the requirements for stairway handrails in AS 1428.1 are provided to warn people who are blind or have a vision impairment that they are approaching a stairway or ramp.

D3.9 Wheelchair Seating Spaces in Class 9b Assembly Buildings

Where fixed seating is provided in a Class 9b assembly building, wheelchair seating spaces complying with AS 1428.1 must be provided in accordance with the following:

(b) In a cinema—

  1. with not more than 300 seats — wheelchair seating spaces must not be located in the front row of seats; and
  2. with more than 300 seats — not less than 75% of required wheelchair seating spaces must be located in rows other than the front row of seats; and
  3. the location of wheelchair seating is to be representative of the range of seating provided.

Table d3.9 Wheelchair Seating Spaces in Class 9B Assembly Buildings

D3.10 Swimming Pools

a) Not less than 1 means of accessible water entry/exit in accordance with SpecificationD3.10 must be provided for each swimming pool required by Table D3.1 to be accessible.

(b) An accessible entry/exit must be by means of—

  1. a fixed or movable ramp and an aquatic wheelchair; or
  2. a zero depth entry at a maximum gradient of 1:14 and an aquatic wheelchair; or
  3. a platform swimming pool lift and an aquatic wheelchair; or
  4. a sling-style swimming pool lift.

(c) Where a swimming pool has a perimeter of more than 70 m in length, at least one accessible water entry/exit must be provided by a means specified in

(d) Latching devices on gates and doors forming part of a swimming pool safety barrier need not comply with AS 1428.1.

D3.11 Ramps

(a) a series of connected ramps must not have a combined vertical rise of more than 3.6 m; and
(b) a landing for a step ramp must not overlap a landing for another step ramp or ramp.

D3.12 Glazing on an accessway

On an accessway, where there is no chair rail, handrail or transom, all frameless or fully glazed doors, sidelights and any glazing capable of being mistaken for a doorway or opening, must be clearly marked in accordance with AS 1428.1.

Specification d1.12 Non-required Stairways, Ramps and Escalators

1. Scope

This Specification contains the requirements to allow non-required stairways, ramps or escalators to connect any number of storeys in a Class 5 or 6 building. The requirements do not apply in an atrium or outside a building.

Specification d1.12 Non-required Stairways, Ramps and Escalators

2. Requirements

An escalator, moving walkway or non-required non-fire-isolated stairway or pedestrian ramp must comply with the following:

(a) The escalator, walkway, stairway or ramp must be bounded by a shaft of—

  1. construction with an FRL of not less than 120/120/120 if loadbearing or –/120/120 if non-loadbearing and if of lightweight construction must comply with Specification C1.8; or
  2. glazed construction with an FRL of not less than –/60/30 protected by a wall wetting system in accordance with Clause 2.4 of Specification G3.8.

(b) The void of each non-required stairway, ramp or escalator must not connect more than 2 storeys.

(c) Rising and descending escalators, walkways, stairways and ramps within one shaft must be separated by construction with an FRL of not less than –/60/30.

(d) Openings into the shaft must be protected by fire doors with an FRL not less than –/60/30.

(e) When the fire door is in the closed position, the floor or any covering over the floor beneath the fire door must not be combustible.
(f) Fire doors must be fitted with smoke seals and the assembly must be tested in accordance with AS 1530.4.

(g) Fire doors must be—

  1. closed and locked for security reasons; or
  2. held open and be automatic closing.

(h) Smoke detectors must be installed on both sides of the opening, not more than 1.5 m horizontal distance from the opening.

(i) In the closed position, fire doors must be openable on a single hand downward action or horizontal pushing action on a single device within the shaft and by key only from outside
the shaft.
(j) A warning sign must be displayed where it can readily be seen outside the shaft near all

(k) All doors opening into the shaft must be within 20 m of a required exit.
(l) Signs showing the direction of the nearest required exit must be installed where they can be readily seen.
(m) Materials attached to any wall, ceiling or floor within the shaft must comply with Specification C1.10.
(n) Emergency lighting must be installed in the shaft in accordance with E4.4.
(o) No step or ramp may be closer to the threshold of the doorway than the width of the door leaf.

Fire doors opening to the shaft. The sign must comply with the details and dimensions of Figure 2.

Specification d3.6 Braille and Tactile Signs

1. Scope

This Specification sets out the requirements for the design and installation of braille and tactile signage as required by D3.6.

2. Location of braille and tactile signs

Signs including symbols, numbering and lettering must be designed and installed as follows:
(a) Braille and tactile components of a sign must be located not less than 1200 mm and not higher than 1600 mm above the floor or ground surface.
(b) Signs with single lines of characters must have the line of tactile characters not less than 1250 mm and not higher than 1350 mm above the floor or ground surface.
(c) Signs identifying rooms containing features or facilities listed in D3.6 must be located—

  1. on the wall on the latch side of the door with the leading edge of the sign located between 50 mm and 300 mm from the architrave; and
  2. is not possible, the sign may be placed on the door itself.

(d) Signs identifying a door required by E4.5 to be provided with an exit sign must be located—

  1. on the side that faces a person seeking egress; and
  2. on the wall on the latch side of the door with the leading edge of the sign located between 50 mm and 300 mm from the architrave; and
  3. is not possible, the sign may be placed on the door itself.

3. Braille and tactile sign specification

(a) Tactile characters must be raised or embossed to a height of not less than 1 mm and not more than 1.5 mm.

(b) Sentence case (upper case for the first letter of each main word and lower case for all other letters) must be used for all tactile characters, and—

  1. upper case tactile characters must have a height of not less than 15 mm and not more than 55 mm, except that the upper case tactile characters on a sign identifying a door required by E4.5 to be provided with an exit sign must have a height of not less than 20 mm and not more than 55 mm; and
  2.  lower case tactile characters must have a height of 50% of the related upper case characters.

(c) Tactile characters, symbols, and the like, must have rounded edges.
(d) The entire sign, including any frame, must have all edges rounded.
(e) The background, negative space or fill of signs must be of matt or low sheen finish.
(f) The characters, symbols, logos and other features on signs must be matt or low sheen finish.
(g) The minimum letter spacing of tactile characters on signs must be 2 mm.
(h) The minimum word spacing of tactile characters on signs must be 10 mm.
(i) The thickness of letter strokes must be not less than 2 mm and not more than 7 mm.
(j) Tactile text must be left justified, except that single words may be centre justified.
(k) Tactile text must be Arial typeface.

4. Luminance contrast

The following applies to luminance contrast:
(a) The background, negative space, fill of a sign or border with a minimum width of 5 mm must have a luminance contrast with the surface on which it is mounted of not less than 30%.

(b) Tactile characters, icons and symbols must have a minimum luminance contrast of 30% to the surface on which the characters are mounted.
(c) Luminance contrasts must be met under the lighting conditions in which the sign is to be located.

5. Lighting

Braille and tactile signs must be illuminated to ensure luminance contrast requirements are met at all times during which the sign is required to be read

6. Braille

The following applies to braille:

(a) Braille must be grade 1 braille (uncontracted) in accordance with the criteria set out by the Australian Braille Authority.
(b) Braille must be raised and domed.
(c) Braille must be located 8 mm below the bottom line of text (not including descenders).
(d) Braille must be left justified.(e) Where an arrow is used in the tactile sign, a solid arrow must be provided for braille readers.(f) On signs with multiple lines of text and characters, a semicircular braille locator at the left margin must be horizontally aligned with the first line of braille text.

NCC 2016 Building Code of Australia - Volume One - Page 206 to 214

Published by: The Australian Building Codes Board

GPO Box 9839
CANBERRA ACT 2601

Release date: May 2016
Phone: 1300 134 631
Email: ncc@abcb.gov.au
www.abcb.gov.au