An access audit is an assessment of how well a building, or a service delivered in it, can be used by disabled people. It is carried out by walking the journey a visitor or employee makes, from arriving at the site to leaving it, and recording at each stage where a barrier exists, who it affects and what could reasonably be done about it. The output is a report with an action plan.
This post explains the context in which audits are commissioned, the method most auditors use, how findings are prioritised and what a useful report contains. It is a practical overview, not legal advice, and the standards and guidance referred to are available from their publishers; nothing from them is reproduced here.
Why audits are commissioned
In Great Britain the Equality Act 2010 places a duty on service providers, employers and others to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled. The duty is anticipatory for service providers: it is about thinking ahead, not waiting for a complaint. The earlier Disability Discrimination Act is still the term many people search for, which is why “DDA audit” survives in common use even though the Act was replaced in 2010.
An audit does not certify compliance with anything. It gives the organisation an evidence-based view of where its building and services fall short and a prioritised plan for reasonable adjustments. The usual triggers are a change of occupancy, a refurbishment, a complaint, a funding condition or a management decision to look properly at the question.
The technical references auditors most often work to are Approved Document M of the Building Regulations (for new work in England) and the BS 8300 series, which gives design guidance on an accessible and inclusive built environment. Both are guidance against which existing buildings can be assessed; neither is a pass or fail test for an audit.
The journey method
Almost every access audit follows the same sequence, because it mirrors how a building is used:
- Information before arrival: website, pre-visit information, booking.
- Arrival: parking, setting-down points, the route from public transport.
- Approach: paths, gradients, surfaces, lighting, external steps and ramps.
- Entrance: doors, thresholds, door furniture, entry systems, reception.
- Horizontal circulation: corridors, internal doors, floor surfaces, signage.
- Vertical circulation: stairs, lifts, platform lifts, handrails.
- Facilities: WCs, changing places, kitchens, counters, seating.
- Means of escape: refuge points, alarms, evacuation procedures.
- Communication: signage, hearing enhancement, visual contrast, staff awareness.
At each stage the auditor records what is there, measures where it matters (door clear widths, ramp gradients, step dimensions, WC layouts, lift car sizes), photographs the barrier and notes who it affects: wheelchair users, people with limited mobility, blind and partially sighted people, deaf and hard-of-hearing people, people with learning disabilities, people with dementia and so on. A barrier that affects several groups ranks higher than one that affects few.
Prioritising the findings
A list of a hundred findings with no priorities is not an action plan. Most auditors use a three- or four-level scheme, along the lines of:
- High: a barrier that prevents access or creates a safety risk, to be addressed as soon as practicable.
- Medium: a barrier that makes access difficult and should be addressed within a planned programme.
- Low: a barrier that causes inconvenience or falls short of best practice and can be addressed when the opportunity arises.
- Management: no physical work, but a change to procedure, training or information.
The priority is a judgement about effect, not cost. A heavy entrance door may be a high priority and a cheap fix (adjust the closer); a lift replacement may be high priority and expensive. The report should separate the two questions so the client can plan.
What the report should contain
A useful access audit report has:
- A summary: what the building does well, the headline barriers and the high-priority actions.
- An introduction setting out the instruction, the legal and guidance context in the auditor’s own words, the method and the limitations (areas not accessed, services not assessed).
- Findings for each stage of the journey, with the checklist results, measurements and photographs.
- A findings schedule: location, barrier, who it affects, priority, recommendation and photo reference.
- An action plan: the recommendations ordered by priority, with timescales and, where asked for, indicative cost bands.
- Appendices: drawings, the checklists used and the auditor’s details.
The common faults are the mirror image: a report that is all checklist and no priorities, or all narrative and no evidence. Photographs with the barrier marked are what make an audit persuasive to a facilities manager who was not on the walk.
Building the audit in Report Kit 360
The access audit template follows the journey method section by section. Set the variables first: the building use, the scope of the audit (whole building, public areas only, ground floor only or specific areas), the design guidance you are assessing against and whether to show indicative cost bands.
The report then runs in the order above: an executive summary with a priority summary, introduction and method with the assessment key, and a section for each stage from arrival and parking through approach routes, entrances and doors, reception, horizontal circulation (one section per floor), vertical circulation, sanitary facilities, signage and wayfinding, lighting and acoustics and means of escape, finishing with a management and staff awareness checklist. Each section is a table with reference, item, observation, compliance result (compliant, partial, non-compliant or not applicable), priority, recommendation, cost band and photo, with annotated photographs beside it.
Priorities use an A, B and C scheme. Rate each item and the executive summary and the priority summary count them; the action plan at the end is a findings schedule that lists every item with its location, who it affects, priority and recommendation. Fault types such as a step without a ramp, a door too heavy to open or a missing handrail are suggested as you type, and tags record who is affected and whether the fix is a quick win, a refurbishment item or a reasonable adjustment.
Keep the legislative context and your method statement in the snippet library so they are inserted, not retyped. Sign the declaration, clear the checks and issue the report as a numbered PDF, then send the client a share link. Export the action plan as CSV on any plan or XLSX on Pro so the client can track progress against it, and reissue when the plan is reviewed. If you adjust the structure, Save as template keeps your version for the next audit.
A note on tone
Access audits land best when they are written as help rather than judgement. Describe the barrier and its effect, recommend the adjustment, and leave the client room to decide the order and the budget. A report that says what works well in the building as well as what does not is more likely to be acted on, and being acted on is the point.
Report Kit 360 is a trading name of [Digital Depth Studio Ltd]. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any standards body, and this post is not legal advice. The checklist content, priorities and recommendations in an audit remain the responsibility of the auditor who prepares it.
