‘Just get me in the door’: campaign for accessibility info in real estate listings

IN 2019 Sarah Eade was a busy wife and mum working in the aged care and disability support sector, until a workplace accident changed everything.

Subsequent surgical treatment resulted in a permanent spinal cord injury, leaving her a full-time wheelchair user.

At the time, her family was living in a house in Port Macquarie that they loved.

Sarah told News Of The Area, “The first time we walked into the house it felt like home.

“We planted fruit trees that we planned to harvest with the kids, and we were so happy there.”

Unfortunately, the house was two levels with a very steep driveway and while Sarah did her best, the living situation became untenable.

In 2024, her family made the very difficult decision to sell their home and buy one that was more accessible.

When looking at real estate listings online, Sarah discovered that almost no accessibility information was available.

Often she would arrive at a property only to discover that she couldn’t get in the front door.

After viewing more than 20 houses, and only being able to access three of them, Sarah decided she wanted to spearhead change.

She had already carried out a peer advocacy role with Spinal Cord Injuries Australia (SCIA) for several years, so she approached them to run a campaign designed to improve accessibility within real estate listings, with her tagline being: “Just get me in the door.”

She hopes one day to see every property listing for lease or sale with an accessibility profile that includes an accurate floor plan, and measurements of doorways, hallways, laundries and bathrooms.

Sarah recently ran a successful free workshop for HEM Real Estate that focused on simple things agents can do to make listings easier to navigate and more informative for the disabled community.

She hopes that all Port Macquarie-Hastings agents will ultimately get onboard with this initiative.

By Rachael THORPE