Public toilet design research awarded major research grant

A research project into inclusive public toilet design has been awarded more than $700,000 in Australian Research Council (ARC) funding.

The project, led by professor Nicole Kalms from Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) in collaboration with professor Emily Potter from Deakin University, was awarded a 2026 Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Grant valued at $712,282.

Titled Designing Dignity: Civic equity through public bathroom architecture, the project will examine how Australia's public toilets can be reimagined as inclusive, multipurpose spaces that meet the needs of diverse communities. The study will consider accessibility, sanitation, and the needs of parents, carers and people experiencing homelessness, as well as cultural, faith-based and transit-related requirements.

The project summary highlights that public toilets in Australia, "once a celebrated public health initiative that promoted civility and mobility, is in disrepair and rapid decline," with toilets increasingly located only in shopping centres, cafes and other commercial spaces. The summary adds that limited access to public restrooms negatively impacts the health and wellbeing of vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness and people with mobility challenges.

Kalms said the research project will take a place-based, co-designed approach across cities, suburbs and regions. "The project findings will serve as a blueprint for individuals, communities, practitioners and governments to ensure that public bathrooms are valued civic assets which promote diverse and equitable communities," she said.

Kalms is the associate dean (Research) and founding director of the XYX Lab at Monash University, which leads national and international research in gender and place. She is also the 2025 recipient of the Paula Whitman Leadership in Gender Equity Prize.

Potter is professor of Literary Studies, with a portfolio of work exploring climate change, place-making, urban design, the biopolitics of water and consumption, and settler colonial environments.