2025-10-21
On Thursday 16 October, the NSW Upper House Inquiry into Public Toilets, initiated and chaired by Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn, tabled a groundbreaking report calling for a new legislative framework to oversee the provision of public toilets across the state.
With consensus support of all committee members, including members of the Greens, the Labor Party, and the Liberal Party, the report delivers 22 detailed recommendations for a comprehensive overhaul of how public toilets are planned, designed, funded and maintained. It highlights that inadequate toilet facilities are not just a sanitation issue, but a public health and human rights issue that impacts people’s ability to participate fully in community life.
Key recommendations of the report include:
- Legislating public toilets under the Public Health Act with ministerial accountability
- Universal design standards with individual cubicles providing full privacy and internal amenities to replace traditional multi-stall facilities
- All-gender bathrooms either in addition to or instead of gendered facilities
- Free sunscreen dispensers in outdoor recreation areas
- Subsidies for private providers to open toilets to the public in dense urban areas
- Support for councils to conduct audits and develop local public toilet strategies
The Government has until the 16th of January 2026 to respond to the inquiry recommendations.
Quotes attributable to Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn:
“What really struck me as chair of this Inquiry was the breadth of people who are directly impacted on a regular basis by the totally inadequate provision and accessibility of public toilets across the state, and the lack of any functional regulatory framework that could address this.”
“The committee heard from 60 witnesses across five days of hearings, including expert academics, building practitioners, local councils and representatives of a broad range of diverse community groups. Our 22 recommendations highlight how public toilets should be planned, designed, funded and maintained.”
“Something as simple as getting public toilets right can make or break whether a significant number of people are able to fully participate in community life - from people with chronic medical conditions to parents of young children, people with a disability and carers, people on their period or who are pregnant and people who are transgender or gender diverse.”
Quotes attributable to the Hon. Stephen Lawrence MLC:
“We've all got a pressing and personal interest in public toilets at some point in our day or our week… and it's important to everyone.”
“This is an issue that has been neglected for too long and the contents of this report I think really provide a map towards best practice both in terms of service provision and design”
Quotes attributable to the Hon. Anthony D’Adam MLC:
“I think [the report] exposes a real gap in terms of the public policy space.”
“One of the very good recommendations coming out of this report is the fact that we're seeking Health to be the lead agency and that someone will actually be responsible for making sure that the basic right to a clean, accessible, safe public toilet is guaranteed.”
Quotes attributable to the Hon. Aileen MacDonald MLC:
“The provision of public toilets is, quite simply, a basic human right. When toilets are poorly designed or not available at all, it affects people from all walks of life and limits their ability to fully participate in the community."
“This Inquiry was an important piece of work. The committee approached it with care, empathy and a genuine desire to improve everyday life for people across New South Wales. I sincerely hope the Government will support the recommendations we have made.”
Key witnesses and stakeholders attended the report launch and welcomed its findings:
Lisa Donaldson, who lost both parents to melanoma, welcomed the report’s recommendation for free sunscreen in public toilets:
“This initiative is a small but high impact investment.” “When sunscreen is freely available, we make sun protection normal, easy and accessible.”
Tony Pierce, StreetCare member, Justice and Equity Centre:
“We'd like to thank the Committee for valuing and respecting our evidence and stories, also for undertaking this very important inquiry.”
“The provision and wider availability of clean, well-lit and safe public toilets reduces deprivation and disadvantage and restores a little dignity to people experiencing homelessness.”
“This is of even more importance now with the fastest growing cohort of homeless people being women, often children. Safe and well-lit public toilets will relieve some of the trauma that these women face.”
Julian Laurens, People with Disabilities Australia:
“PWDA thanks the portfolio committee for a really excellent report.”
“From our perspective, safe, accessible, inclusive public toilets affirm dignity and they support the independence of people with disability.”
“We feel the report presents a very clear, crucially evidence-based framework for much needed change.”
Elster Cook, Trans Justice Sydney:
“I know from my own experience trans people in public bathrooms and from talking to many others, we're faced with at the bare minimum the humiliation, of them are threats ranging from violence to rape to murder and at times physical violence. And the way public bathrooms are right now only encourages that.”
“We think the recommendations found in this report fix a lot of the problems that we found in the system from talking to trans people in the community and analysing statistics.”
Katie Green, Inner City Legal Centre:
“We would like to thank Dr Cohn and her colleagues in the Legislative Council for this excellent piece of work that touches across so many areas.”
“The only available public toilet in Kings Cross is annexed to the Kings Cross Police Station. Kings Cross is frequented by people with complex mental health issues, people experiencing homelessness, and a lot of people accessing health services that include the medically supervised injection centre. So there are people around Kings Cross that have drugs on them and they're trying to go to a health facility to use them. If the only public toilet that is available in Kings Cross is right near the police station, it actually creates a situation where vulnerable people are disincentivised from using the only available toilet and in fact it causes urination and defecation in public places which none of us want.”
“We applaud the government for taking the lead on this. We hope that the recommendations of this report influence not only public toilets, but also further influence the design of toilets in private space.”