Why do we need a Public Toilet Strategy?

    In Council's Community Survey we asked residents about their satisfaction with the maintenance and cleanliness of public toilets. Residents told us that while we are improving, we could do better. When we asked people with disability about public toilets they told us that it was one of the top three things they needed to enable them to get ‘out and about’ and participate in their community.   

    How many public toilets are there currently in Wollongong?

    Council provides 368 public toilets across our City. They can be found at beaches, parks, town centres and in our community facilities. Some of our toilets are old and do not meet current community expectations.

    Over the past five years Council has upgraded and installed many new toilets. New automated toilets were installed at MacCabe Park, Bald Hill and Pop Errington Park, while at Stuart Park, we replaced the existing facility and installed the first adult lift and change table for people with disability.


    How often are public toilets cleaned?

    Toilets are cleaned and maintained on different schedules. Some are daily or weekly, and some are self-cleaning. How often public toilets are cleaned depends on how often they are used and whether they are located in busy or quieter public spaces. We are trialling more frequent cleaning of toilets on the Blue Mile and MacCabe Park due to the popularity of these sites.

    What will happen after the survey closes?

    We will consider all feedback and look at areas of consideration for the draft Public Toilet Strategy. These include:

    • Where we need to provide and upgrade toilets
    • Where to include adult lift and change tables for people with disability
    • Where gender-neutral (unisex) toilets are suitable
    • The hours of opening for public toilets
    • Where to trial new innovations and where to decommission toilets.

    We will then write the draft Public Toilet Strategy and invite the community to have their say on the draft Strategy later this year.