From the President’s Desk

by Lindsay Perry

President of the Association of Consultants in Access Australia

It is with pleasure that I write this 'From the President’s Desk' as the first female president of ACAA. A huge thankyou to Mark Relf for everything he has done during his time in the President’s chair. Mark, your dedication and knowledge will be very much missed by the Committee. Yours are big shoes to fill but I’ll give it a go!

Before the silly season officially begins, we have the upcoming AGM, coming to you this year via zoom. Following the AGM our forum topic will centre around how ACAA can support you, the members, post COVID-19. The Committee is keen for your input and I personally encourage you to have your say and offer suggestions so that it can be reflected in our strategic plan that will be updated in the new year.

I am keen to get members involved in ACAA activities through subcommittees and panels. So if you are at all interested in assisting the Committee, please feel free to contact me personally to discuss and/or volunteer. More people brings a greater variety of skills which can only be a good thing.

The committee is currently exploring options for a virtual conference next year and also the development of a CPD webinar series. So if anyone would like to be involved, or present to our members (and the broader community) on their area of expertise / interest, again I encourage you to raise your hand and volunteer. Don’t be shy! Technical or theoretical, lets once again get passionate about access issues and see where this takes us as an organisation. A collaborative approach is always exciting as it means knowledge is shared and opportunities arise.

Back to the matter at hand, this issue of Access Insight is all about carparking. How many of you get really irritated every time you‘re out and about, seeing the dreaded kerb ramp in the shared area or signage referring to 'disabled space'? I know I do!! We have a range of insightful articles for you to deliberate over, including a discussion of some anomalies in the standards, information on SDA carparking requirements, the lowdown on driverless vehicles and an interesting account of 'The Good, the Badthe Ugly' of accessible carparking.

Finally, as this is the last edition of Access Insight for the year, I wish you and your families a festive silly season (whatever that may look like this year). Stay safe and I hope the new year brings you all peace and happiness.

Enjoy this issue!