Pacific Travel Guides

Disabled access

Disability awareness in Australia is high. Legislation requires that new accommodation meets accessibility standards, and discrimination by tourism operators is illegal. Many of Australia's key attractions provide access for those with limited mobility and a number of sites have also begun addressing the needs of visitors with visual or aural impairments; always contact attractions in advance to confirm the facilities. Tour operators with accessible vehicles operate from most capital cities.

National Information Communication and Awareness Network (TTY 02-6285 3713, TTY 1800 806 769; www.nican.com.au)is an Australia-wide directory providing information on access issues, accessible accommodation, sporting and recreational activities, transport and specialist tour operators. The website of Tourism Australia (www.australia.com) also has useful information. Easy Access Australia (www.easyaccessaustralia.com.au), available from bookstores, provides details on easily accessible transport, accommodation and attraction options. Visit www.toiletmap.gov.au. for over 14,000 public toilets nationwide with disability access.

Qantas accepts the Carers Concession Card, (13 13 13, TTY 1800 652 660; www.qantas.com.au), which entitles a disabled person and the carer travelling with them to a 50% discount on full economy fares; call Nican for details. All of Australia's major airports have dedicated parking spaces, wheelchair access to terminals, accessible toilets and skychairs to convey passengers onto planes via airbridges. Avis and Hertz offer hire cars with hand controls at no extra charge for pick-up at capital cities and major airports, but advance notice is required.

Most trains are equipped to cater for travellers with disabilities. Some rural services employ hoist-equipped accessible coaches; twenty-four hours advance booking is required; V/Line Disability Services (03-9619 2300) is at Southern Cross station in Melbourne. The Travellers' Aid Society (03-9670 2873), also at Southern Cross train station, provides a meet-and-greet service (arrange this in advance).

Gay & lesbian

Australia is a popular destination for gay and lesbian travellers, largely encouraged by Sydney's annual, high profile and spectacular Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Throughout the country, but particularly on the east coast, there are tour operators, travel agents, resorts and other accommodation places that are either exclusively gay and lesbian or make a point of being gay-friendly. Certain areas are the focus of the gay and lesbian communities, among them Cairns and Noosa in Queensland; Oxford St and King's Cross in Sydney; the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley and south coast in NSW; the Melbourne suburbs of Prahran, St Kilda and Collingwood, and Daylesford and Hepburn Springs in Victoria.

In terms of major gay and lesbian events, there's the aforementioned Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in February and March, Melbourne's Midsumma Festival from mid-January to mid-February, and Adelaide's Feast in November.

In general Australians are open-minded about homosexuality, but the further into the country you get, the more likely you are to run into overt homophobia. Homosexual acts are legal in all states but the age of consent between males varies - in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, NSW and WA it's 16 years, in SA and Tasmania it's 17, and in NT and Queensland it's 18. All major cities have gay newspapers, which are available from gay and lesbian venues and from newsagents in popular gay and lesbian residential areas.