Going to Your Local Gym

The Julia Farr Association wrote this paper in response to issues raised by people living with disability about the challenges accessing their local gym or health club. This paper explores the benefits of going to a gym and provides ideas on how to make it easier for a person living with disability to access a gym or health club in their local community. 

Some of these ideas include:

Accessibility - Accessible car parking, ramp or appropriate access to the gym for a person who uses a wheelchair or other mobility aids, gym equipment leaves space to access or manoeuvre a wheelchair, accessible toilet or changing area

Cost – Fee discounts for people living with disability, Medicare subsidised ‘Exercise Therapy’ programs

Attitudes - Remember that a person living with disability is a citizen first and foremost, regard the person as you would regard any other person using the gym or health club, try not to be discouraged by previous negative experiences, be aware of your rights and fundamental freedoms and ways to advocate for them

People living with disability have the right to access the same opportunities as other citizens but often this is frustrated because of access issues or attitude issues. This paper includes information on Access Alert postcards and a list of health clubs and gyms that include various accessibility features.