Letter to the Editor: Inclusive play spaces should be a right for all Albany children, writes Hayley Barker

I am writing to express my deep concern and growing frustration at the persistent lack of accessible and inclusive play spaces in Albany.

Despite two years of active engagement with the City of Albany — including a visit to Eyre Park with children with disability to demonstrate the barriers firsthand — little meaningful progress has been made.

This is not due to a lack of evidence, guidance, or community feedback. It is due to a lack of listening, leadership, and commitment to genuine inclusion.

Extensive national and international research shows that inclusive play is not a luxury or an optional “add‑on”.

It is an essential component of children’s social, physical, and emotional development.

Play is recognised by the United Nations as a fundamental right of every child, yet many playgrounds in Australia remain exclusionary in design, disproportionately marginalising children with disabilities.

Contemporary research from Australian experts confirms that accessibility barriers — including poor layout, inappropriate surfacing, and limited equipment options — reduce opportunities for participation and social inclusion for children with physical or sensory disabilities.

Inclusive play spaces are defined as places where children of all ages, abilities, and cultures can play, learn, and socialise together.

The Commonwealth Accessible Australia Initiative clearly states that an inclusive play space must offer diverse play types, incorporate principles of inclusive design, and ensure accessibility throughout the entire environment — not just isolated features.

These standards are not new. They are widely adopted across Australia and continue to shape best‑practice planning in other States.

Albany, however, is not meeting these expectations.

The city’s own Access and Inclusion Plan (2023–2027) recognises that approximately 20 per cent of Albany residents have a disability and that equal access to public spaces is a legislated requirement under the WA Disability Services Act.

Yet these commitments are not reflected in the city’s recent actions.

The development of the new Middleton Beach Toddler park — despite significant public commentary on accessibility across the city’s own communication channels — again demonstrates a failure to design for all abilities.

This contradicts well‑established guidelines such as “Inclusive Play – Guidelines for Accessible Playspaces”, which emphasise that play spaces must be designed for children with diverse physical, social, sensory, and cognitive needs.

Similarly, the Everyone Can Play universal design framework clearly states that an inclusive play space must allow users to get there, play there, and stay there, removing barriers for all ages and abilities.

It highlights that inclusive design goes beyond compliance and must embed social participation, sensory engagement, and shared play opportunities.

Compared to many other WA cities actively implementing these guidelines, Albany’s progress is alarmingly slow.

It is important to acknowledge improvements the city has made in other accessibility areas, such as installing new beach accessibility equipment at Binalup/Middleton Beach and Emu Point.

While positive, these upgrades highlight an uncomfortable inconsistency: Albany is capable of improving accessibility when it chooses to — but has not applied the same commitment to children’s play environments.

This raises critical questions for our community:

When will the City of Albany meaningfully embed inclusive design into all public play spaces — right from the planning stage?

When will lived experience be treated as expertise and not an afterthought? Not just consulted with, but genuinely listened to.

How much longer must families of children with complex needs fight for the right of their children to play alongside their peers?

Albany has the opportunity to become a leader in inclusive design.

We have the research. We have the guidelines. We have a community that has repeatedly called for change. What we lack is genuine action.

The current trajectory places Albany far behind other WA cities that have embraced modern, evidence‑based inclusive play principles.

This is not just disappointing — it is inequitable. It is avoidable. And it is an embarrassment for a city with so much potential.

I urge the City of Albany to take immediate, transparent action to align its planning, consultation, and implementation processes with established inclusive design standards.

Our children deserve equitable access to play. Families deserve to be heard. And Albany deserves to be a city that truly includes everyone.

Letters to the editor must contain the author’s full name, address and daytime contact number. Letters may be edited for space, clarity or legal reasons. Email news@albanyadvertiser.com or post to PO Box 5168 Albany, WA, 6332.