Inc-loo-sion: creating a more inclusive built environment

For many people, including trans and gender diverse individuals, having greater choice and all gender bathroom options can have major physical and mental health benefits. Access to all gender bathrooms can reduce the incidence of harassment and the reliance on fasting behaviours to avoid using the bathroom outside of the home.

In addition, greater choice also provides greater empowerment for large parts of the Australian community, including parents with children, carers, and beyond. Based on research conducted in 2020, we found that one in four people sometimes require extra space, time or privacy when using the toilet, with many reporting that they prefer not to use accessible toilets.

Sadly, all gender bathroom options are rarely available and the current requirements for bathroom configurations in the Building Code of Australia do not adequately meet the community's needs.

In a bid to break this trend, our Industry Impact group is working on tangible solutions to this problem. At InterBuild's first in-person event for 2021, the group presented their progress on identifying the barriers, drivers and principles for greater inclusion in bathrooms.

Held on June 2nd and hosted by MinterEllison, the event was attended by 70 people in person and online nationally. We heard from our wonderful speakers, Ben Thomas and Katie Box from The GPT Group, and Ruby Ramachandran from MinterEllison, who took us through the results of their 2020 survey and discussed best practice and next steps for inclusive public bathrooms.

We also heard how leaders like The GPT Group have begun providing greater choice in response to customer expectations, adding all gender options at their Melbourne Central Shopping Centre and Casuarina Square in Darwin, with plans for further inclusion across their portfolio.

The event also marked the launch of our Inc-loo-sion Fact Sheet that supports inclusion champions in employers, building designers, developers and owners to start conversations within their organisation. We are working on more detailed considerations and technical design guidance which will be released later in the year.

Thank you to everyone who joined us online and in person. Thanks also to MinterEllison for hosting us at their Sydney office and for GPT Group for sharing their insights.