More MLAK use urged

More than two million Australians with mobility-related disabilities are being urged to pick up a special key that can give them access to more than 1,000 safe and secure public toilets and Changing Places facilities across Australia.

The Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia, who – together with a disability group and local council – developed the Master Locksmiths Access Key (MLAK) more than 30 years ago as a service to the disabled community, has launched a campaign to get the key into the hands of more people, and has also urged councils, shopping centres and state governments to install more secure MLAK enabled toilets.

Master Locksmiths president Martin Coote said while using a public toilet was easy for most people, those who experience core mobility issues, including older Australians, those in wheelchairs, and parents who are disabled or who have children with disabilities, often could not use general toilets.

“Unfortunately accessible public toilets, because of their privacy, are often targeted by those doing drugs, with wrong intentions or who are unfortunately sleeping rough, and are often unhygienic.”

Mr Coote said the association wanted to ensure disabled toilets could be used by those for who they are designed.

One of those people is Frances Kupke-Smith, a director of Regional Disability Advocacy Service, which operates in regional areas of New South Wales and Victoria, who said the MLAK had made a huge difference in her life and helped her feel safe, independent, and truly included in the community.

“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,” she said.

Cheryl Koch, chair of Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australia and New Zealand, said safe access to toilet facilities could be life-changing for most autistic people.

“More than 60 per cent of autistic people have other conditions that may impact on their ability to access (toilet) facilities, with rates of cerebral palsy and epilepsy more than 10 times that of non-autistic people.”

Mr Coote encouraged those with mobility related disabilities, as well as companion card holders, to order a key through the Master Locksmiths website.

“Once the key is purchased it’s yours for life, and MLAK can be fully subsidised by the NDIS,” he said.

In South Australia and Victoria, companion card holders are eligible for a free MLAK through the state government.

Mr Coote said more people with a MLAK would 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.”

The key can also be used at Changing Places facilities, Liberty Swings, and other facilities across Australia.