What does it takes to make a beach accessible, and can we make more of them a reality?
“We all know that feeling of getting to the beach, smelling the sea air, hearing the waves, just looking out into the vastness of the water,” says Bern Walker of Accessible Beaches Australia. “We know what it does for you and your sense of peace.”
“Yet only a handful of our beaches are accessible [to people with disability or mobility challenges.]”
In this two-part article, we chat to Bern about what it takes to make a beach accessible (hint: it’s far more than just ramps), and how we can work together to make more of them a reality.
Can you introduce us to Accessible Beaches Australia?
In Australia, 85% of people live within 50 kilometres of the coastline. We have well over 10,000 beaches on the mainland and nearly 12,000 in total.
Yet less than 200 of those are accessible to the over 4 million Australians living with a disability.
And then again, a very small portion of that are fully accessible–more on that later.
Our goal is to make beaches more accessible to people with disabilities and mobility challenges, and we work with individuals and local Councils to make that happen. (Read more about this in Part Two of this blog).
How did the organisation come about?
Accessible Beaches Australia was founded in 2016 by Shane Hryhorec, who is a wheelchair user himself. Shane grew up doing surf lifesaving and spending a lot of time at the beach.
At 21, he had an accident in a pool and became an incomplete quadriplegic, in addition to having a hypoxic acquired brain injury. At that point, he thought that the beach was no longer for him, because beaches and wheelchairs just don’t equate.
He established a disability equipment company, and during that time happened to see an image of beach access equipment: Beach matting and beach wheelchairs. He thought: “Amazing, let’s start up an organisation to start making beaches accessible!”
He realised very quickly that there was a lot more to it than just equipment: There’s all the other infrastructure, the mindset, training, all those sorts of things–and that’s what we focus on today.
In 2020, the organisation became a registered charity aiming to achieve this vision.
"The disability community is very strong. When they have a great experience, they don't keep it to themselves. They share it with everybody."
Ramps and matting are the most visible accessibility infrastructure in beaches. What else is there to consider?
The fact is that it’s not just about getting into the water.
There is clear cut evidence that accessing beaches and bodies of water, what we call “blue spaces,” have benefits for mental health and wellbeing. And we all know that feeling of getting to the beach, smelling the sea air, hearing the waves, just looking out into the vastness of the water. We know what it does for you and your sense of peace.
So we take all of that into consideration, from arriving at the beach to getting into the water. We look at everything from the lens of purpose of use, including:
1. Accessible parking, beyond the tickbox version. If it’s a busy location that gets an influx of non-locals at summertime, locals should still be able to get to that beach. So the accessible parking must be practically located, close to entry points and pathways.
It also needs to be well-spaced, with entry and exit points next to the accessible parking for people who have side exit and entry on their vehicles.
Those entry points need to be seamless and wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair or a walker. Pathways must be wide and clear with no undulations and clear of overhanging trees and things like that.
2. Accessible bathrooms, showers, and change rooms, with handrails and ramps compliant with the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act).We regularly talk to councils about how not having facilities like that locks out quite a significant portion of people with disability or mobility challenges.
3. Shade and fresh water. One thing that’s too often overlooked is the need for shade and fresh water that’s fully accessible. Without these things, you might have given people access to the beach, but they may only be able to stay for an hour before they overheat, rather than having a whole day at the beach.
What about accessing the water?
Beach matting. There are many options, considering tides and the topography of an area, like when sand comes up very high. So it’s about finding options that are going to work for each separate location, rather than just saying it’s too hard to do.
Beach access equipment, beyond just having one wheelchair. Looking at various forms like a junior chair, a beach walker to enable people who may have mobility issues.
Providing access to that equipment at a time of the person’s choosing is the final component of that, and probably one of our biggest hurdles. Some locations have lockable, specifically-designed sheds for beach access equipment, with a QR code so people can get to the location then scan and book out equipment as needed.
A lot of locations may have varying parts of those, but that’s what we would consider a fully accessible beach.
What are some examples of great accessible beaches?
Henley Beach in Adelaide is pretty spectacular. They have beach access equipment–more than just a wheelchair–and it is in a lockable external cage where people can easily access it.
There’s multiple locations of accessible parking. The paths are beautiful and wide and clear. They have beach matting out, I think, consistently for all of summer, 24-7, and there’s a ramp down to the beach.
There’s heaps of shade and seating and lots of areas that are fully accessible for eating right nearby as well. Because that’s important too: People’s ability to go for a day. Everything is there and it’s a pretty calm beach to swim at.
On top of the immediate benefit of giving more people access to the beach, what are some of the flow on effects of making these changes?
Just think about the importance of young kids coming down to the beach with their parents, and it just being the norm to see people with disabilities being included. That plants a seed and they bring that out into their lives, whether that be at school, through their sporting club, or whatever the case may be. The ripple effect is huge.
Also, as you know, the disability community is very strong. When they have a great experience, they don’t keep it to themselves. They share it with everybody.
And so then that local beach community is also benefiting, in terms of more people coming to the community, and therefore more people spending money in there.
The impact is so much bigger than just providing access to the beach.
What are some of the perceived risks of providing these facilities or equipment?
In our experience, Councils are often concerned about the insurance and risk of having people access the equipment themselves. But my answer to them is consistently that people with disabilities are fully aware what their abilities are and what they’re not able to do–more so than the everyday person.
We tell them that our concern should be with the percentage of Australians that don’t know how to swim at all. You don’t close the beach to those people. So why close the beach to someone with a disability who knows exactly what they can and can’t do? If they need a carer, they’ll have a carer with them.
You currently have a campaign called Make Australian Beaches Accessible. Can you tell us more about it and what you’re calling for?
We have great support in Senator Jordon Steele-John, who submitted a petition to Parliament. Now our next step is engaging more heavily with federal ministers.
We are calling for a federal strategy around beach access in Australia. At the moment you have to deal with individual councils. Some are fantastic and extremely committed to access and inclusion, and others are very much lagging behind. A federal policy will streamline this.
Second and most importantly: A federal pool of funds that can be made available to massively increase accessible beaches.
The Olympics and Paralympics are coming to Australia in 2032. This a great opportunity to do something lasting, to really show the world that we can lead the way in accessibility and that it’s a great country to visit for that.
Going to the beach is a quintessential part of the Australian way of life. And it’s not just getting in the water, it’s the social aspect, going down with friends and family, sitting and taking in the view, having fish and chips down at the beach, whatever the case may be. Let’s make that available to everybody and show the rest of the world that’s what we’re about.
Bern Walker
Bern joined the Accessible Beaches team in March 2022. Bern is the mum to Emilia, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Bern has extensive experience, not only as the mother to a child with a disability but also in the Not For Profit sector where Bern was previously a Board Member and President for the Prader-Wllli Syndrome Association of Victoria.
Bern is an active member of the disability community and is passionate about inclusion for all in every aspect of life.
Bern also brings to Accessible Beaches her experience in Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, and Project Management, to run their programs, manage the Beach Directory and undertake stakeholder engagement.
