Some people might not spend much time thinking about public toilets. But for those it does affect, it’s clear how much better they could be.

Something as simple as getting public toilets right can make or break whether a significant number of people are able to fully participate in community life. Few know this better than people with chronic medical conditions, parents of young children, people with a disability and carers, people on their period or who are pregnant, and people who are transgender or gender diverse.

Best practice universal design of public toilets is better for everyone.

So why are so many public toilets so crap?

We're so often subjected to public toilets that are unsafe and inaccessible. These facilities, built by and for men, are the legacy of gross sexist norms. NSW can do better.

Modern design principles include single-stall gender-neutral toilets, each with their own sink and full-height door, that open directly onto visible areas like a park or main corridor.

Shortly after I was elected to my local council in Albury, an audit of our public toilets found that not one complied with current disability access standards and half lacked any accessible facilities. In response, our council announced a program of sweeping toilet upgrades guided by a new public toilet strategy. Now, public toilets must be no more than 1 km apart in urban areas; they must be clean, well maintained, and brought up to current accessibility standards under the Disability Discrimination Act. Under the strategy, facilities needing extended opening hours were identified and the changes made.

I'm sharing this example to show that if my regional community can do it, so can the rest of NSW.

I'm currently chairing the NSW inquiry into public toilets to investigate what works with public toilets, and what should get the flush.