Design For Dignity
Retail Guidelines

Guidance on premises

Accessible Toilets^{*A disabled toilet is one that is broken.}

In most instances, customer toilet facilities are not provided within the store but in the shopping centre. Customer toilet facilities, when built within the store, must meet Australian Standards.^{*Toilets constructed prior to May 2011 that meet the requirements of AS 1428.1 (2001) do not need to be upgraded to the AS1428.1 (2009) standards.} These are summarised in the end notes of this publication.

The most frequently encountered issues with accessible toilets are:

• Doors are too difficult to open and pass through.
• Privacy latch to show the toilet is occupied is too small making it hard to turn.
• Circulation space is too small.
• Cleaners leaving the sanitary disposal unit at a distance from toilet, not against the wall next to the toilet.
• No colour contrast between walls and floor, or toilet seat and floor.
• The accessible toilet is used to store extra equipment, products or even wheelchairs.
• Facilities are frequently used by people who have no specific need to use an accessible toilet, but prefer the extra space or are parents with children, usually of a differing gender.

Case study: Changing Places toilets

Meeting the needs of people with disability who require assistance or additional facilities in public bathrooms is an area that is very relevant to ‘dignified access’. The current situation in compliant accessible toilets is that carers and people with disability have insufficient space and are forced to choose between changing on the floor of an accessible public toilet or avoiding the shopping centre altogether. This is not dignified access.

Changing Places is a not for profit organisation that advocates and enables the installation of bathrooms that specifically meet the needs of people with disability and their carers. The facilities include adult sized adjustable change tables, a ceiling hoist, sufficient circulation space, toilets that are accessible from both sides with fold-down grab rails and result in a safe and clean environment. This need for assisted facilities was not envisaged by the current BCA and Australian Standards, and as a result the Changing Places facilities are not counted as an accessible toilet for compliance purposes as they cater for a different user group.

The Changing Places website provides information about the experiences of people that need and use these facilities, comprehensive information about the benefits of implementing them as well as detailed information about the designs and how to implement them.^{*www.changingplaces.org.au
Viewed September 2016}