Making Ballarat more accessible

Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) member Christine Segaert firmly believes that working towards making Ballarat a more accessible place for people with disabilities has benefits for the whole community.

“If we make everything accessible from the beginning, then everyone can use it, and we can accommodate other groups such as our aging population,” she says.

“Whereas, if we don’t make our infrastructure and spaces accessible, we eliminate people.”

Christine joined the DAC about four years ago after she acquired a disability and began using a wheelchair, soon learning that many places across Ballarat did not accommodate wheelchair access.

“These experiences prompted me to apply for the DAC, to improve accessibility in Ballarat,” she says.

Over her four years with the DAC, providing accessibility advice on City of Ballarat infrastructure projects has been one of Christine’s favourite elements of her role. In recent times, the DAC has provided feedback on the designs for the redeveloped Ballarat Library in Doveton Street and on the Bridge Mall design.

“I really believe if we can get it right at the beginning, it’s better for everyone,” she says.

“It’s much cheaper to get it right first than having to retrofit a space to make it accessible later.”

Christine is also a strong advocate for infrastructure specifically for people with assistance dogs. She is most proud of the Assistance Dog Relief Station, located near Target in Doveton Street South, which was opened to the public last year. 

“Many people with assistance dogs have told me it’s a relief that they have the station there because it’s one place they can go that they know they’re not  going to be interrupting anyone,” she says.

The DAC is comprised of a diverse array of members, not all of whom live with a disability themselves.

Rebecca Paton has been sharing her learnings with the DAC and broader community for more than a decade from navigating life with her daughter, who has a disability.  

"I learnt a lot through the process of my daughter starting school and accessing services, so I had a lot of knowledge to share,” she says.

One of Rebecca’s main areas of interest over her years with the DAC has been to advocate for the installation of Changing Places toilet facilities across Ballarat. Changing Places provide suitable facilities for people who are not accommodated by standard accessible toilets.

“In 2012, I did some research about Changing Places toilets and found there was one in a park in Sydney,” she says.

“We visited the play space, which turned out to be an inclusive play space, and that was the beginning of the Inclusive Play Space that we now have in Victoria Park.”

Both Christine and Rebecca say that a large piece of work for the DAC over the years has been educating the City of Ballarat, and other local organisations and businesses, to factor accessibility into considerations for all projects.

“It’s been really good to see different council departments learn to be proactive in terms of including us early in their processes,” Rebecca says.

“Accessibility isn’t an afterthought – it feels like we are making a positive difference.” 

Group photo: BACK Jenene Burke, Vivian Bradbury, Heidi Biggin, Narelle Mason, Robyn Hall. FRONT Christine Segaert, Rebecca Paton, Vincent McDonald, Mark Thompson. ABSENT Casey West, Sharon Eacott, Claudia Forsberg.