Peter Steenstrup has not lived with his family for more than five years.

Living alone, away from his wife, takes a toll, he told 9news.com.au.

“I’d much rather be at home with the family, of course,” Steenstrup said.

“I would be able to be much more productive, and I would enjoy my life much more than I do now.”

Because his surgery happened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Steenstrup spent nine months in hospital before appropriate accommodation was found for him.

Since then, he’s moved several times, into a variety of emergency accommodation and SDA (specialist disability accommodation) homes.

He says in the midst of the national housing crisis, finding safe and appropriate housing is even harder for the 4.4 million or one in five Australians estimated to be living with a disability.

“It’s becoming more and more difficult for anyone to simply go out and buy their own home, first time or otherwise, and anyone with a disability would immediately be left behind or put in an even more difficult position, not to mention the fact that we have a much larger, older generation which is getting older every year in Queensland,” Steenstrup said.

In light of the housing crisis, recent changes to the National Construction Code in 2022, designed to make new homes more accessible and energy efficient, are under the spotlight.

The Liveable Housing Standard added requirements for accessible features such as step-free entry, wider doorways, roll-in shower access and reinforced bathroom walls to allow for installation of grab rails.

An interim report by the Queensland Productivity Commission released last month recommends the Queensland government “opt-out” of the requirements.

The report argues the changes have increased construction costs for builders – which are passed on to consumers – and that the benefits do not justify the costs.

According to Master Builders Queensland, the accessibility and energy efficiency requirements together add between $22,500 and $44,500 to the cost of building a new home.

Executive Manager of Advocacy and Member Services Michael Hopkins said the industry body wants to see the requirements made voluntary.

“In the midst of a housing crisis, and an affordability crisis, we need to be looking for ways to be able to deliver more housing at an affordable level,” Hopkins said.

“We’re not advocating for these requirements to be scrapped altogether, in fact, we know parts of the industry have adapted well to these standards, and where homeowners would like to incorporate them we think that’s perfectly appropriate.

“But in other cases where the cost might be the difference between a project proceeding or not proceeding, we’d like to give homeowners the choice as to whether they adopt those higher standards or not.”

Spinal Life Australia wants the requirements to remain mandatory.

They argue the accessibility requirements save millions in taxpayer dollars down the track by reducing the need for home modifications, hospital stays and aged care admissions.

CEO Mark Townend said the lack of reliable data about supply and demand of accessible housing is a major issue.

“The costs to the community of lack of accessible housing is estimated to be between $3 billion and $6.7 billion,” he said.

“It is clear that a much higher provision of accessible housing is required, and that relying on the construction industry to deliver this on a voluntary basis has not delivered any measurable results.

“Spinal Life Australia will continue to advocate for people with disability, and strongly urge the Queensland Government to reject the QPC’s recommendation and uphold the Liveable Housing Standard.”

Steenstrup intends to return to his family home when he can raise the finances to make the necessary adjustments, which involve raising the home and building underneath.

He says the cost of making it accessible for him in the process is no more so than it would be otherwise.

“There’s no extra real-world costs involved, we’ve just got to lay it out in a way that’s specific to my needs,” he said.

He wants the state to retain the Liveable Housing Standard to ensure there is enough accessible homes for Queensland’s growing and ageing population.

“We need this in place as a bare minimum just to support our population,” he said.

“We’re a quarter of the way into the 21st century and this idea sends us backwards.

“Very shortly, we’re gonna have the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

“They’re gonna see Queensland, how we treat the most vulnerable in our society.”

The Queensland government is waiting for the full report by the Queensland Productivity Commission, due to be handed to the treasurer on October 24, before considering any of its findings or recommendations.