City of Ballarat to develop a Public Toilet Strategy

The City of Ballarat is developing a new Public Toilet Strategy to meet the diverse needs of residents across the municipality. 

The strategy will work to outline a network of safe, accessible and well-maintained public toilets that support our diverse community’s health and activity. 

The City of Ballarat has advertised for suitably qualified and experienced consultants to lead the preparation of the strategy.  

The project is expected to begin in February 2023. The community will be invited to provide feedback to inform the draft strategy, which is expected to be presented to Council for consideration in July 2023. 

Public toilets are essential to our community infrastructure. The City of Ballarat manages 56 public toilets across the municipality. 

The strategy aims to provide a detailed analysis of existing toilet provision and condition, including location, usage levels, access and wayfinding, safety, overall condition, management and maintenance regimes. 

It will also identify and respond to future public toilet facility needs for open space, recreation and community use for residents and visitors. 

The Public Toilet Strategy will consider availability of public toilets to support our diverse community, including but not limited to families with children, older people, people with disability and people from LGBTIQA+ communities. 

City of Ballarat Director Infrastructure and Environment Bridget Wetherall said the strategy will be a strategic level document that informs how the City of Ballarat plans, provides, designs and manages public toilets. 

“The Public Toilet Strategy will establish a vision to provide high quality, inclusive and accessible public toilets that are safe, clean and cater for the needs of all residents, workers and visitors to the City of Ballarat,” she said. 

“The strategy will provide guidelines for the design, location and fit out of public toilets and set out a strategic framework to guide planning for upgrades, installations and recommendations for changes to existing facilities.” 

The strategy will replace the existing Public Toilet Planning Framework 2015 and Draft Public Toilet Plan 2021, and aligns with City of Ballarat Council Plan 2021-2025 Goal 4 - ‘A city that conserves and enhances our natural and built assets’.