FACED with a rapidly ageing population, can our building code be future-proofed in time to head off major problems?

That's a question asked by recent PhD graduate Darryl O'Brien, who celebrated his award at CQUniversity's graduation ceremony in Sydney yesterday.

Dr O'Brien, who is a lecturer in Building Surveying and Built Environment at CQUni, remarked on the rise in dementia cases, and wondered if we have adequately taken into account the rate of deaths and injuries caused by stair falls.

He also raised the question whether the design of nursing homes takes into account that older people have poorer vision and therefore see less natural daylight.

"Are we able to ensure through building design that older people have enough natural light exposure during the day to re-set their circadian rhythm to ensure adequate sleep at night?,” Dr O'Brien asked.

"There's a demographic bulge coming affecting millions of Australians and our buildings have a life around 60-70 years, so we need to future-proof their design if possible.”

CQUniversity specialist in Healthy Ageing and Dementia, Lisa Hee said while there were strict building codes in place for aged care facilities, there were concerns about trip hazards.

Dr O'Brien recommends that Australia's building code should move from a reactive/minimum standards model towards an adaptive/best practice/evidence-based model.

His research also encompassed the issues around importation of non-compliant materials. .