Even though we are heading swiftly toward the end of 2021, the entire MGAC team has been busily delivering projects around Australia. We’ve covered a couple of these in more detail below. To see more, please visit our projects page.
Some of our latest project highlights include:
As a majority of industries look to return to the office post-pandemic, many companies and organisations are looking for ways to best facilitate what the ‘new normal’ will look like for their employees. In an effort to support ongoing flexible work arrangements, offices around Australia are already investigating how to create inspiring and engaging workspaces that are also safe, accessible and inclusive.
MGAC has been engaged by numerous industries and companies to help facilitate these much-needed office developments from an accessibility and inclusivity perspective. Most notably, we have assisted IAG – Australia’s largest general insurer – to improve the workplace experience for all their employees. The MGAC team was involved in designing the IAG office prototypes that would serve as a benchmark for their workspace guidelines. Our team had to ensure the guidelines meet all of Australia’s accessibility and universal design standards and oversee their rollout across their portfolio of offices in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.
Moving forward, IAG employees around Australia can expect to return to work in spaces that help to support high-performance and better access, whether employees are in-office, remote workers or experience a disability. While many employers are sitting up and paying attention to the call for more support for disabled workers, many still report feeling isolated, excluded and discriminated against. On the back of the pandemic, there is an increased rallying cry for organisations in all industries to broaden their employment policies to be more inclusive. Creating physical workplaces that support different abilities needs to be a large part of this shift towards greater inclusivity.
Our team is working alongside numerous forward-thinking companies and industries to support all workers to return to the office in a way that allows them to perform at their best. We’re taking our work with IAG and applying this approach to some of the country’s largest employers workspaces including: Seek, National Australia Bank (NAB), Google, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), AMP, Salesforce and Commonwealth Bank. Our goal is to help all industries to prioritise equal access so employees of all abilities are able to find and keep work that is meaningful and fulfilling.
As is the case with many train stations in Sydney, Turella Station has seen better days. Built in 1931, the station is quickly approaching 100 years of operation. In 2020, MGAC had the opportunity to audit Turrella Station to find out the good, the bad and the ugly about Turrella Station.
Our audit uncovered a lot of underlying issues. For example, the main staircase did not have compliant handrails, platform gradients and crossfalls were also not compliant, and the station also did not have an accessible toilet. In short, Turrella was not accessibility-friendly.
The MGAC presented these findings to Transport NSW as part of our larger accessibility audits of over 400 railway and ferries in the State Railway System. As a result, Turrella is slated as one of the stations to undergo proposed upgrades under the Transport Access Program. The program’s aim is to provide an improved transport experience for the public, particular those with accessibility needs. Scheduled for 2023, these upgrade works promise to provide greater access for all public transport users, ensuring more safe and dignified travel for everyone.
Have a project or design that needs an expert accessibility consultant? The team at MGAC are ready to hear from you.
Our skilled consultants are specialists in the application of DDA, UD, Accessibility, and Human Movement related to Australian Standards, NCC and Safety in Design.
Fill out the contact form and one of our access consultants will be in contact within 48 hours. Alternatively, you can contact one of our offices directly.
