FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q1. Do you accept incentives or brand deals?

A1. No, Strawbridge Accessibility Limited is fully independent and will never have arrangements that pertain to benefits or reward from product suppliers/funders.

Q2. Do you provide residential home design guidance?

A2. No, we do not.

Q3. Can you tell me if something is compliant or not?

A3. I can give my independent opinion on this, but cannot certify compliance. Only Building Consent Authorities (BCA) are authorised by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to certify compliance under the New Zealand Building Act 2004 (NZBA)

Q4. Why does your advice differ from XYZ local person that I spoke with who had XYZ disability.

A4. Generally unless the person you spoke with is familiar with the building code, the advice you get will be based on that persons own lived experience, personal ability levels and personal preferences. Whereas the advice I give has to consider all disability types and ability ranges as well as the requirements of the NZ Building Code and its acceptable solutions.

Q5. How did you end up doing this as your job?

A5. I started off as an architectural designer. A close family member became confined to a wheelchair following a stroke and was unable to access public buildings like the local library and toilets (even with a support person). Witnessing their struggles firsthand made me steer my career towards accessibility and making sure the legal requirements for this were more consistently met within NZ.