Retrofitting Andrew Fairbairn's home so he could get around it in his wheelchair cost the NDIS $100,000 and took him more than three years.
It's a battle that will start to become less common around much of Australia, as changes to the National Construction Code take effect.
New standards will require home builds to have things like at least one step-free entrance, wider doors and corridors, and reinforced walls around toilets and bathrooms so grab-rails can be installed if needed.
While almost every state and territory across Australia has agreed to those provisions, WA is joined by New South Wales and South Australia in not doing so.
It's left disability and housing advocates furious and asking the government to change its stance – something it has ruled out in the short term.
A group of 18 housing, ageing and disability advocacy organisations, as well as the WA branch of the Australian Institute of Architects, yesterday signed an open letter calling for Commerce Minister Roger Cook to act.
"In Western Australia, one in five people live with a disability and our ageing population is continuing to grow," it reads.
"Despite this, we continue to accept that a significant proportion of our population must either reside in homes that they cannot easily enter, move around in, or be forced to move into alternative accommodation.
"This is increasingly complicated by the shortage of affordable housing options available and by the high cost of retrofitted modifications."
Their pleas come ahead of a meeting of state and territory building ministers on Friday, where final decisions will be made.
Government says no to new measures for now
But a state government spokesperson last night confirmed WA was "not in a position to adopt the accessibility provisions in the short term".
"We will continue to monitor this situation," they said.
Last year, then-Commerce Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson hinted at some of the reasons for that decision when she said: "The changes would have negative impacts on housing affordability and the construction sector and will also come at a significant cost to the community."
The new provisions of the code address many of the issues Mr Fairbairn had to fix in his 45-year-old house.
"To the average person they would look like basic features, but that's my safety net," he said.
After dealing with "a lot of heartache" to retrofit his house, the President of Physical Disability Australia said he was keen to see accessibility become standard.
"It means at least new houses and new premises being built will be accessible to people with wheelchairs, people who have mobility issues," he said.
"But not only that, it'll also help the older population and it'll help mums and dads with pushers and prams.
"Accessibility is not just about people with disabilities, it's about all of the community."
On a purely financial basis, an analysis prepared for the federal government found that for homes built over the next 10 years the changes would save $2.7 billion over the following four decades, but cost $6.8 billion.
It conceded though that "societal benefits" and other factors that "could not be reliably quantified" were not included in that analysis.
Mr Fairbairn said the cost of his retrofit showed the benefits of making small changes to all homes.
Benefits outweigh the cost
Chief executive of People with Disability WA Brendan Cullinan agreed, and said for people with limited mobility the benefits clearly outweighed the costs.
"For too long, people with disability and the ageing have continued to experience physical and psychological hardships due to not having choice and control over where they can live due to the availability of accessibly housing," he said.
"People with disability, and particularly the ageing, have trouble in finding accessible housing or are unable to remain in housing for a long period of time.
"Or, for a basic situation, [they are] unable to host friends or relatives who have a disability due to the inaccessibility of their housing."
He added that Australia needed more accessible homes, and that new standards was "the only way to achieve that".
Being both a wheelchair user, and a disability advocate, Mr Fairbairn said the changes were also about more than just improving physical access – both in people's own homes, and in homes they visit.
"When you go to places that have got stairs and no lifts, or stairs and no ramps, it creates a sense of divide from the community, that these people don't want me there," he said.
"We're just starting to understand now those issues of mental health around that, particularly if someone can't get somewhere or cant' be involved in something.
"Housing is a right, and accessible housing will make so much more sense."
Transition period needed
Master Builders Western Australia said there needed to be "further consultation with industry and indeed all stakeholders" before the new requirements become compulsory.
"If the requirements become mandatory, there must be a reasonable transition period in place, which can allow for further analysis of required needs, better supply gap quantifying and raising awareness through education of all stakeholders, especially the public," Master Builders WA director of housing and construction Jason Robertson said.
"Having as a minimum a considered transition period if it does become mandatory, will greatly assist in this regard."
