The Continence Foundation of Australia’s annual Great Dunny Hunt has revealed Australia’s best public toilets on The National Public Toilet Map.
Taken for granted by many, awareness and access to quality public toilets is a huge consideration for those living with incontinence, who may find it difficult to leave their home for everyday activities due to the fear of not having access to appropriate facilities.
For this year’s hunt, Australians were asked to take photographs of their favourite public dunny and upload them to The National Public Toilet Map (NPTM) website or app, as well as update any public toilet facilities.
Australia’s best public dunnies as judged by a panel of experts are:
Australia’s top three accessible toilets:
Bundaberg Airport – Kensington, QLD
Lake Pertobe – Warrnambool, VIC
Belair National Park 2 – Belair, SA
Honourable Mention for Australia’s public toilet in the quirkiest spot:
Loop 1 – Zuytdorp, WA
Honourable Mentions for Australia’s most colourful public toilet:
Princes Park – Battery Point, TAS
Macquarie Park – Warren, NSW
The expert judging panel was made up of:
Sean Burford, who won the title of Australia’s Greatest Dunny Hunter in 2022 by entering over 129 dunnies on The National Public Toilet Map.
Katherine Webber, who was awarded the 2018 Rodney Warmington Churchill Fellowship to increase inclusion and accessibility in public toilets by researching taboos, design, policy and legal barriers.
Rowan Cockerell, CEO of the Continence Foundation of Australia.
Tania Mayne, Content Manager, National Public Toilet Map
This year’s hunt attracted over 778 entries, with 1,935 photos and 150 new facilities added which made judging the winners a massive task.
The general public was encouraged to upload pictures to go into the running to find the best public Australian toilets from Monday 3 April to Monday 19 June, the start of World Continence Week, which was held from Monday 19 June to Sunday 25 June 2023.
Sean Burford encouraged all Aussies to take a moment to enter their favourite dunnies because “when you’re out and about, it’s a great opportunity to find nearby facilities and check that the information about accessibility is up to date on the map. A good photo showing accessibility really is worth a thousand words.”
The NPTM is extremely beneficial for the one in four Australians who experience incontinence as well as the 38% of people living with a disability who are experiencing incontinence.
“We’re very excited to see the impact the updated map will have on the thousands of Australians experiencing incontinence, by identifying nearby toilet facilities that suit their individual needs,” said Rowan Cockerell, CEO of the Continence Foundation of Australia.