News
More Australians with disability are being urged to pick up a special key which grants them access to over 1000 safe and secure public toilets across the country.
The Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia, the peak body for locksmith services, developed the Master Locksmiths Access Key (MLAK) over 30 years ago as a way for the disability community to access clean and accessible public amenities. The key can also be used at Changing Places facilities, Liberty Swings, and other facilities across Australia.
More than two million Australians live with profound or severe disability which affects their core mobility function, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Due to this, the Master Locksmiths association is urging local councils and state governments to install more secure accessible toilet facilities for people with disability.
Master Locksmiths President, Martin Coote, explains that while using a public toilet is easy for most people, those who with physical disability often can’t use general toilets. He went on to point out that accessible toilets without specialised locking systems are prone to being vandalised or used for other criminal activities.
Unfortunately accessible public toilets, because of their privacy, are often targeted by those doing drugs, with wrong intentions…and are often unhygienic
Martin Coote
He says the association wants to ensure that disabled toilets can be accessed by those who require them.
Eligibility for MLAK is restricted to people with disability or have written authority from a doctor, disability organisation, community health care facility, or the owner of a building with an accessible toilet, according to Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia.
Frances Kupke-Smith is a director of Regional Disability Advocacy Service, which operates in regional New South Wales and Victoria. Ms Kupke-Smith lives with disability, and says the MLAK key has made a huge difference in her life.
It gives me secure and reliable access to public toilets and facilities when I need them, without the stress of asking for help or worrying if a door will be locked
Frances Kupke-Smith
“Once the key is purchased it’s yours for life, and MLAK can be fully subsidised by the NDIS,” Mr Coote says.
Mr Coote claims more people with a MLAK will encourage councils to install more MLAK toilets.
“We join with disability groups and call on councils and others who operate a public toilet to install more so that people with disabilities can have greater access.”