Going out on the town is almost a rite of passage in your twenties. Whatever it is going to the pub with your mates or heading to a trendy bar for a drink and a boogie. But for 1 in 5 Australians living with disability, planning a night out in the city can pose a lot of challenges and many would like to see that change.
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00:00Okay, let's get the list up. Oh, you got it. Part-time lover could be fun, but it's a bit
00:07out of the way.
00:09It's Friday afternoon, and Elisa is planning a night out in the city.
00:13See that?
00:15How can you say that that's wheelchair accessible?
00:17But it can be a long process.
00:19For my 21st birthday, I was trying to plan a fun night out. I wanted to do karaoke, and
00:27at that time, there were no karaoke bars accessible in Adelaide, so I spent maybe two
00:33or three weeks researching that to end up with nothing.
00:37Elisa has lived in Adelaide her whole life, but hasn't experienced much of its nightlife.
00:44Of the 72 bars and nightclubs within the Adelaide CBD that are listed on Google, 60% of them
00:50aren't wheelchair accessible, or don't have that information freely available. Elisa says
00:56of the 40% that say they are, when you actually go there, it's a different story.
01:02When you're just trying to have a good time, have a few drinks, have a little boogie, you
01:06know, you don't want to have to think about whether you're going to be able to use the
01:09bathroom or have to go home.
01:11In 2019, South Australia introduced a four-year state disability inclusion plan. Part of the
01:17plan was to implement universal design across South Australia, meaning that built environments
01:22and public spaces are accessible to everyone.
01:25In the last few years, I don't think I've noticed any changes, in all honesty. It is
01:31definitely frustrating having to keep it in people's minds, and some people put it in
01:38the too hard basket.
01:40While ideally all buildings would be accessible and usable and safe for all people with disability,
01:48we do acknowledge that there are challenges with the legacy buildings that we have, but
01:53let's do better in the future.
01:55The disability community is so tight-knit, and if we find a venue that is truly inclusive
01:59and accessible, we will tell everybody, and there will be lines at your door to get into
02:05your venue, because you have committed to that effective and active allyship for the
02:09disability community.