The Public Toilet Amenity Plan provides guiding principles, prioritisation and selection criteria for the provision of public toilets across the City of Whittlesea. It provides recommendations for improving the public toilet network across the municipality.

The plan is being updated to ensure alignment with Council policies and community needs and expectations. The update will establish a vision for public toilets across the City of Whittlesea, update the guiding principles and project selection criteria for the upgrade and renewal of existing public toilets, as well as identify where new toilets are required in future. It will also review the provision of Changing Places, all gender facilities and automated self-cleaning toilets.

All community members who live, work or play in the City of Whittlesea are invited to participate in the consultation, as we seek feedback from a diverse range of community members to shape the Public Toilet Amenity Plan.

Feedback can be shared via the Engage Whittlesea platform and community pop-ups listed on the Engage Whittlesea website during the consultation period.

Yes, your feedback will play a crucial role in informing and finalising the Public Toilet Amenity Plan. We will use the input to ensure the plan addresses the community’s needs and concerns.

The Engage Whittlesea platform includes a translation tool, and bilingual Council Officers can be available to assist where necessary.

The consultation will take place from 16 June to 20 July 2025 and will include both online and in-person engagement activities in the City of Whittlesea.

The plan incorporates a design toolkit that will identify opportunities for incorporating environmentally sustainable design solutions and ensuring the siting and selection of locations is sensitive to environmental conditions and impacts.

After the consultation, the community will be informed through an engagement summary, posted on the project’s page on Engage Whittlesea, as well as via local publications and communications channels.

Yes, the plan will be refined based on community input. However, some aspects of the plan, like the location of existing public toilets, are non-negotiable, while elements like the new locations of public toilets are open to community suggestions.

The main goal of the plan is to inform the renewal, upgrade and construction of new public toilets. The plan covers all aspects of public toilet provision including the selection and design of new sites for public toilets.

The plan identifies groups most at risk, such as the elderly, children, low-income residents, those with pre-existing health conditions, and the LGBTIQA+ community. It considers the specific needs of these groups relating to the use of public toilets. We welcome feedback from these groups to help to inform the plan.

Following the update of the plan, a short-, medium- and long-term capital works program will be established to guide the renewal, upgrade and new build program for public toilets.

The Public Toilet Amenity Plan considers all Council-managed toilets which are freely accessible from a public place. This includes standalone toilets in streets and parks, and in some Council-managed public buildings such as libraries, community centres and sports pavilions.

All-gender toilets are facilities which do not have gendered signage and can be used by a person of any gender.

Provision of all-gender toilets aligns with the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender 2013 and federal and state legislation which aims to protect people from discrimination based on sex and/or gender. As members of the gender diverse community often lack access to a safe toilet, all-gender toilet provision contributes to safeguarding against discrimination and is being increasingly provided in both the public and private sector. The updates to the plan will provide guidance on the provision, design and siting of all-gender toilets across the municipality.