FEATURED ARTICLE
Unisex vs Gender Neutral vs All Gender Toilets – what’s in a name? by Grant Wooller
Grant Wooller is an Access Consultant (Accredited Member of ACAA) and Registered Occupational Therapist. He has worked with people with disabilities in various settings for the last 20 years. He has worked as an Access Consultant based in Victoria, Queensland, and currently in South Australia, leading the office for Architecture & Access.
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he Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010, and the National Construction Code (NCC) require the provision of “accessible unisex sanitary compartments” within specified locations, depending on the classification of the building; typically at least one on every level of a building provided with sanitary facilities. There are also provisions for sanitary compartments for persons with ambulant disability, that “must be provided for use by males and females” (NCC F2.4), and more recently NCC 2019 saw the requirement introduced for accessible adult change facilities within certain types of buildings. These specifications have been introduced gradually over time, with the goal of providing facilities for personal hygiene that are suitable for all people… but are they really inclusive for all people? Over recent years there has been much debate around the designated of toilets as male, female, and unisex, in the context of gender identity; and many proponents of this debate would suggest the answer to the above question is no. Since the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and the writing of various Australian Standards for mobility and access, there has been a lot of progress in the 14
quality and suitability of toilets for persons with disability. Possibly of greatest significance being the current standards, we have for unisex accessible sanitary facilities. The designation of “unisex” has been important to ensure that all persons with disability are able to use the facility and can be accompanied by a carer who may not be of the same sex as the individual with a disability. Recognising the above, we have a National Construction Code that requires sanitary facilities to be separated for males, females, or in a few select scenarios (including accessible toilets), unisex facilities. This construct provides facilities that reinforce a binary notion of gender. Not everyone, however, identifies as male, female; or with “unisex”; which according to the Oxford Dictionary means “intended for or used by both men and women”.
THE MAGAZINE FOR THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTANTS IN ACCESS AUSTRALIA
