Submission to the NSW Legislative Committee Portfolio No. 8 – Customer Service
7 January 2025
People with Disability Australia (PWDA) welcomed the opportunity to provide comment on the inquiry into public toilets in New South Wales (NSW) by the NSW Legislative Committee Portfolio No. 8 – Customer Service.
People with disability continue to experience discrimination and poorer life outcomes across all life domains when compared with those without disability.
Design decisions around our built environments and public spaces continue to act as barriers to the full participation and inclusion of people with disability in the community
The lack of public toilets that are accessible to people with disability, are safe, support our diverse accessibility needs and which offer privacy is one specific and significant barrier to community inclusion that continues to be of concern to people with disability in NSW.
People with disability in NSW are concerned that:
- There are not enough accessible public toilets, particularly accessible toilets with adult change facilities based on the 'Changing Places' design.
- The number of public toilets including accessible public toilets is declining. There is considerable concern that the significant decrease in public toilets seen in the United Kingdom and United States and the well documented associated social harm including increased social isolation that ensued will occur in NSW.
- Existing public toilets are often poorly maintained. They are not safe, private or hygienic.
- Toilets are not placed in the best areas. In some cases, accessible toilets are placed in areas which are difficult to access in the first instance. Many accessible toilets are being kept locked.
- They are not sure who to talk to about public toilets in their local areas to seek improvements and voice concerns and are not confident they will be listened to.
A lack of accessible public toilets and changing places in NSW continues to specifically exclude people with disability from the public sphere.
Evidence directly links the provision of appropriate and accessible public toilets with increased 'independence, autonomy, well-being and social participation' of people with disability.
Central to the design and placement of public toilets that meet the needs of people with disability is recognition by planners, designers, policy makers and the community that people with the same disability can experience that disability in different ways. Proper accessible public toilet design needs to reflect this multifaceted and intersectional nature of toilet use
Recommendation 1: People with disability must be included in the co-design process alongside decision-makers and other stakeholders at all levels of the standard design and review, facility design and placement of accessible public toilets in NSW. A co-design process must demonstrate how the lived experience of people with disability is reflected in outcomes.
Recommendation 2: The NSW government should introduce new legislation or amend existing legislation to provide that residents have a right to access accessible public toilets that are fit for purpose.
Recommendation 3: The NSW government should introduce new legislation or amend existing legislation to establish a body to provide oversight, coordination and review of the design, placement and construction of public toilets (including accessible) throughout NSW. This body must include people with lived experience of disability. Such a body will work with local councils to:
a. ensure that all communities have sufficient accessible public toilets for their needs
b. all accessible public toilets are built and maintained to the maximum accessible standard.
Recommendation 4: The NSW government should introduce new legislation, rules or regulations, or amend exiting legislation, rules or regulations to reflect that the design, placement and public engagement with public toilets must be guided by the Public Toilet Design Principles outlined by Katherine Webber in her 2019 Churchill Fellow Report 'Exploring Accessibility and Inclusion in Public Toilets' and as amended by PWDA.
