Written answer by Ministry of National Development on proportion of buildings in compliance with Code on Accessibility and strengthening code requirements for changing rooms in[...]

Question No.: 1496

Question by: Mr Cai Yinzhou

To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what proportion of buildings have complied with the Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment; and (b) whether BCA will consider requiring the accessible changing room under the Code to (i) include ostomy cleaning sinks and (ii) be mandatory in all public-facing commercial buildings within a defined timeline.

Answer:

From 2019 to 2025, more than 80% of new buildings that were completed and existing buildings undergoing addition and alteration (A&A) works that require plan submission to BCA have fully complied with the prevailing Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment ('Code'). The remaining buildings were exempted from full compliance with the Code through waivers or modifications to the requirements, due to technical constraints that make complying with the full requirements impractical.

Introduced in 2019, the requirement for accessible changing rooms applies to large public-facing building types, such as shopping complexes, sports facilities, community clubs, hospitals, polyclinics and major transport interchanges.

While the provision of ostomy cleaning sinks is currently not mandatory, BCA introduced the Companion Guide to the Code earlier this year. The Guide provides design recommendations and encourages the installation of ostomy facilities in public-facing buildings. BCA will continue to review and update the Code.