The National Public Toilet Map is part of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n government's National Continence Management Strategy (NCMS). The map allows more Australians with

urinary The urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra. The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressure, con ...

and

fecal incontinence Fecal incontinence (FI), or in some forms encopresis, is a lack of control over defecation, leading to involuntary loss of bowel contents, both liquid stool elements and mucus, or solid feces. When this loss includes flatus (gas), it is referred ...

problems to live and participate in their communities with dignity and confidence, by making it easier for them to find information about the location of public

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...

s . The map was launched in September 2001. The map is internet based and can be accessed via a web browser or a free

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

app. It identifies more than 19,000 public and private toilets across Australia, including those in service stations and fast food outlets. The digital map also provides information on

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

(access for disabled people) and opening hours for most of the toilets identified. More than 3.8 million Australians are estimated to have continence issues, including families with young children. This represents 18% of the Australian population. The map allows journey planning, including finding toilets near points of interest. Regular users of the web site can register and create their own customised web page, ''My Toilet Map'', saving details of trips and localities for future reference. Registered users can also download toilets as waypoints to a Global Positioning System (GPS) device. For journey planning a detailed map and written instructions are provided. Clickable

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

go to details of the toilets including

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

to four decimal places, who provides the toilet and when details were last checked as well as all facilities, for example

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

access, opening hours, or whether the toilet has a Master Locksmiths' Association Key (MLAK). The MLAK is a master key that fits into specially designed locks allowing 24-hour-a-day access to public toilets. Eligible people, for example those with a disability, can purchase a key that opens all accessible toilets displaying the MLAK symbol. The symbols used comply with

ISO 7001 ISO 7001 ("public information symbols") is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization that defines a set of pictograms and symbols for public information. The latest version, ISO 7001:2007, was published in Novembe ...

. A similar project is th
Great British Public Toilet Map

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Australian National Public Toilet Map

National Public Toilet Map: iOS app

National Public Toilet Map: Android app

Toilets A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popul ...

Public toilets in Australia Accessible building Disability in Australia Web Map Services

See also

References

External links