About Australia (Travel Information)
Travellers with dissabilities
The vast distances between Australia’s cities and popular tourist resorts present visitors with mobility difficulties with a unique challenge, but, overall, travel in Australia for people with disabilities is rather easier than it would be in the UK and Europe.

The federal government provides information and various nationwide services through the National Information Communication Awareness Network (NICAN) and the Australian Council for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (ACROD). The Australian Tourist Commission offices provide a helpline service and publish a factsheet, Travelling in Australia for People with Disabilities, available from its offices worldwide.

Disability needn’t interfere with your sightseeing: the attitude of the management at Australia’s major tourist attractions is excellent, and they will provide assistance where they can. For example, you’ll find you can view the rock art at Kakadu National Park, do a tour around the base of Uluru (Ayers Rock), snorkel unhindered on the Great Barrier Reef (contact Great Adventures at Cairns, freecall tel 1800/079 080 or Quicksilver at Port Douglas, tel 07/4031 4299), go on a cruise around Sydney Harbour, and see the penguins at Phillip Island.

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Planning a holiday
There are organized tours and holidays specifically for people with disabilities (including mobility, hearing, vision and intellectual restrictions). Some arrange travel only, some organize travel and accommodation, and others provide a complete package – travel, accommodation, meals and carer support. This last type, as well as catering fully for special needs, provides company for the trip. You can find useful contacts in the Australian Tourist Commission factsheet. If you want to be more independent, it’s important to become an authority on where you must be self-reliant and where you may expect help, especially regarding transport and accommodation. It is also vital to be honest – with travel agencies, insurance companies and travel companions. Know your limitations and make sure others know them. If you do not use a wheelchair all the time but your walking capabilities are limited, remember that you are likely to need to cover greater distances while travelling (often over rougher terrain and in hotter temperatures) than you are used to. If you use a wheelchair, have it serviced before you go and carry a repair kit.

Read your travel insurance small print carefully to make sure that people with a pre-existing medical condition are not excluded. And use your travel agent to make your journey simpler: airline or bus companies can cope better if they are expecting you, with a wheelchair provided at airports and staff primed to help. A medical certificate of your fitness to travel (provided by your doctor) is also extremely useful; some airlines or insurance companies may insist on it. Make sure that you have extra supplies of medication – carried with you if you fly – and a prescription including the generic name in case of emergency.

There are several books which give a good overview of accessible travel in Australia, and you may want to consult one or more of these before you leave: Smooth Ride Guides: Australia and New Zealand, Freewheeling Made Easy (FT Publishing), which lists support organizations, airports and transport, specialist tour operators and places to visit and stay; Easy Access Australia (Easy Access Australia Publishing), which has information on all the states, with maps, and a separate section with floor plans of hotel rooms; and A Wheelie’s Handbook of Australia (Program Print).

Accommodation
Much of Australia’s tourist accommodation is well set up for people with disabilities, because buildings tend to be built outwards rather than upwards. New buildings in Australia must comply with a legal minimum accessibility standard, requiring that bathrooms contain toilets at the appropriate height, proper circulation and transfer space, wheel-in showers (sometimes with fold-down seat, but if this is lacking, proprietors will provide a plastic chair), grab rails, adequate doorways, and space next to toilets and beds for transfer. There are, of course, many older hotels which may have no wheelchair access at all or perhaps just one or two rooms with full wheelchair access. Most hotels also have refrigerators for medication which needs to be kept cool.

The best place to start looking for accommodation is the A–Z Australian Accommodation Guide published by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) – the umbrella organization for state- and territory-based motoring associations that rate accommodation. They also offer some specialized services, a centralized booking service and a repair service for motorized wheelchairs, with reciprocal rights if you are a member of an affiliated overseas motoring organization. The guide is available from any of the state organizations; NICAN also has access to their database via computer, so you can choose your accommodation over the phone. Many travel shops and bookshops have accommodation guides which detail places that have wheelchair access.

The greatest range of accessible accommodation is found in the more densely populated areas of Australia – especially the east coast. In the cities, the big chain hotels have rooms with wheelchair access. Some of the smaller hotels do provide accessible accommodation, and a large proportion of suburban motels will have one or two suitable rooms. In the country there are fewer specially equipped hotels, but many motels have accessible units; this is particularly true of those that belong to a chain such as Flag – consult their directories for locations. The newest YHA hostels are all accessible, and there has been an effort to improve facilities throughout; accessible hostels are detailed in the YHA Handbook, or contact them direct. Caravan parks are also worth considering, since some have accessible cabins. Others may have accessible toilets and washing facilities.

There are also a few resorts which are fully designed and equipped for wheelchair travellers. Two of these excellent facilities – both of which have a pool and spa with hoist, and fully accessible cooking facilities – are the Wheel Resort, 39–51 Broken Head Rd, Byron Bay, NSW 2481 (tel 02/6685 6139, fax 6685 8754), which was developed by and for wheelchair users; and Clark Bay Farm, Riverview Drive, Narooma, NSW 2546 (tel 02/4476 1640). These are both reasonably priced family holiday venues, set in quiet, private and pleasant surroundings. Another well-equipped facility is the YAL Tropicana Lodge, 158c Martyn St, Cairns, QLD (tel 07/4051 1727), which has seven accessible rooms.

In all cases, it’s sensible to check what facilities are available when booking.

Transport
Interstate buses and trains are generally not an option, although in Victoria, V/Line operates “Sprinter” trains and buses with wheelchair access on country routes and to Adelaide; and in New South Wales, Countrylink runs “XPT” and “Xplorer” trains between Sydney and Melbourne, and it also provides access to some country areas. Information about both services is available on tel 13 2232. However, the most convenient ways of getting around are by plane and car. Both Qantas and Ansett have special services to help people with disabilities, and will do their best to minimize discomfort and difficulty. Qantas staff undergo special disability-awareness training and on international flights their aircraft carry the sky chair and are equipped with a larger toilet cubicle.

Of the major car rental agencies, Hertz and Avis offer vehicles with hand controls at no extra cost, but advance notice is required. Reserved parking is available for vehicles displaying the wheelchair symbol (available from local council offices) in all major centres. There is no formal acceptance of overseas parking permits, but states will generally accept most home-country permits as sufficient evidence to obtain a temporary country-wide permit in Australia. Parking charges and designated spaces differ from state to state (call NICAN for further information). A specially adapted taxi service operates from all the major national airports, booked in advance on free tel 1800/043 187; in addition every capital city has wheelchair-accessible taxis. Some suburban rail services can be used with a wheelchair: Melbourne’s MET leads the way – call Disability Services (tel 03/9619 2355). Minibuses in some cities have either a hoist or a ramp for rental (call NICAN for further information).

All capital cities and most regional centres produce mobility maps showing accessible paths, car parking, toilets, etc, which can be obtained from local councils. Other cities have gone further and their tourist authorities produce comprehensive books such as Access Brisbane and Darwin City without Steps, while ACROD in New South Wales publishes Accessing Sydney (available from them at 55 Ryde St, Ryde, NSW 2112). Easy Access Australia – A Travel Guide to Australia is a comprehensive guide written by wheelchair-users for anyone with a mobility difficulty and is available for £11.95 in the UK from the following address: c/o Prawles Oast, Ewhurst Green, near Robertsbridge, E. Sussex TN32 5RG.

Useful contacts in Australia
  • ACROD (Australian Council for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled), PO Box 60, Curtin, ACT 2605 (tel 02/6282 4333, fax 6281 3488). Regional offices provide lists of state-based help organizations, accommodation, travel agencies and tour operators.
  • Aged and Disability Care Information Service, “Westella”, 181 Elizabeth St, Hobart, TAS 7000 (tel 03/6234 7448).
  • Barrier-Free Travel, 36 Wheatley St, North Bellingen, NSW 2454 (tel 02/6655 1733). Fee-based travel access information service.
  • DIRC (Disability Information Resource Centre), 195 Gilles St, Adelaide, SA 5000 (tel 08/8223 7522).
  • Disability Services and Liaison, PO Box 721, Alice Springs, NT 0871 (tel 08/8951 5177).
  • IDEAS (Information on Disability, Equipment, Access and Services), PO Box 479, Tumut, NSW 2720 (tel 02/6947 3377).
  • NICAN (National Information Communication Awareness Network), PO Box 407, Curtin, ACT 2605 (tel 02/6285 3713, fax 6285 3714, free tel 1800/806 769; nican@spirit.com.au). A national, non-profit, free information service on recreation, sport, tourism, the arts, and much more, for people with disabilities. Has a database of 4500 organizations – such as wheelchair-accessible tourist accommodation venues, sports and recreation organizations, and rental companies who have accessible buses and vans.
  • Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of NSW, 33–35 Burlington Rd, Homebush, NSW 2140 (tel 02/9764 4166). Serves the interests of the spinally injured; offices also in each state capital.
  • Travellers Aid Support Centre, 2nd floor, 169 Swanston St, Melbourne, VIC 3000 (tel 03/9654 7690).
  • Western Australia Disability Services Commission, 53 Ord St, West Perth, WA 6005 (tel 08/9426 9200).