Who we are
Me he manu motu i te māhanga — Like a bird escaped from the snare
As an organisation, BarrierFree has a 30-year track record of advancing accessibility in New Zealand. Our services span advocacy, accessibility training, technical and policy guidance for Building Code compliance, and expert advice on best practices in inclusive design. We collaborate with organisations across a wide range of environments – including public parks, transport infrastructure, bridges, urban landscapes, and town centres – to ensure accessibility is embedded from the ground up.
Our vision is for people to live well and participate fully in their communities.
What we do
Building a barrier-free world.
All people have differing abilities and needs when using the environment. These diverse needs can be accommodated if the approach to design is comprehensive and inclusive, as opposed to tailoring to specific disabilities.
For 30 years, BarrierFree has advocated for barrier-free design to foster inclusive environments. Our approach focuses on the end result; environments that can accommodate various needs. We provide training, guidance and assessment services to aid project stakeholders in understanding accessibility compliance and best practices in New Zealand, ensuring these are implemented from design to construction and beyond.
We achieve this by recognising the specific requirements of those with differing impairments and how they interact with the environment.
Leading accessibility in New Zealand
In 2019, BarrierFree led a project on behalf of MBIE to produce the first national accessibility guide in New Zealand, called Buildings for Everyone: Designing for Access and Usability. This guide provides information about good practices for the design of buildings that are safe and easy to use for everyone.
Find out more about the Buildings for Everyone guide.
