Queenstown-Lakes District Council
Captured
Q1: Do you provide communal single-sex changing and showering facilities?
Yes. All Council aquatic centres (Alpine Aqualand, Wānaka Pool and Arrowtown Pool) and fitness centres (Queenstown Events Centre and Wānaka Recreation Centre) are equipped with communal single-sex changing rooms, toilets and showering facilities.
Q2: Do you provide single occupancy changing and showering facilities? If so, how many at each site?
Yes. All QLDC aquatic centres and fitness centres provide single-occupancy changing and showering facilities. These are provided either as individual cubicles within communal changing rooms, or as separate accessible/universal/family rooms.
The number of single-occupancy facilities at each site is as follows: (QLDC provided a table showing an excellent quantity of single occupancy spaces).
QLDC have Universal Shower and Changing Rooms.
Please note that all male and female individual cubicles for dry changing and single-occupancy showers—each with a lockable door for privacy—are situated within communal change rooms.
Q3: Please provide any policies or procedures that apply to trans-identified people who wish to use the changing and showering facilities in your sites.
Council has good reason under section 17(e) of the LGOIMA for refusing the information requested.
We consider it is necessary to refuse the requested information on the basis of the following grounds:
Section 17(e) – that the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
Section 17(e) of the LGOIMA provides that a local authority is not required to provide information that does not exist or cannot be found despite reasonable efforts. This ensures that the absence of information is not due to negligence but reflects its genuine non-existence.
QLDC does not have policies or procedures that specifically regulate the use of changing and showering facilities by trans-identified people. Practice in this area is guided by the Recreation Aotearoa Trans and Gender Diverse Guidelines for Exercise and Recreation Providers.
As a local authority, we are committed to fulfilling our obligation to provide access to information that we hold. However, pursuant to Section 17(e) of the LGOIMA, we are unable to release information that either does not exist or cannot be found despite our reasonable efforts.
Q4: How are your different changing and showering facilities labelled and described?
Changing and showering facilities at QLDC fitness and aquatic centres are labelled as Male, Female and Universal/Family/Accessible.
Q5: At your sites, which changing room and showering facilities is a trans-identified male permitted to use?
QLDC fitness and aquatic centres are guided by the Recreation Aotearoa Trans and Gender Diverse Guidelines for Exercise and Recreation Providers, which advises that;
“single-stall gender neutral facilities are the best option for everyone, giving privacy and safety to all who use them. New build facilities should consider including single-stall gender neutral toilets, changing, and shower facilities as a best-practice option. This can be beneficial to those who are trans and gender diverse as well as people with mobility issues, caregivers with young children, people with physical and / or mental disabilities or people with cultural or religious beliefs that feel uncomfortable in shared facilities. In venues which have both gender-neutral and gendered facilities available, trans and gender diverse people might prefer the privacy of a gender-neutral stall but are not required to use them.”
Q6: If applicable, do your facilities allow trans-identifying males to attend Women Only swim sessions?
The Recreation Aotearoa Trans and Gender Diverse Guidelines for Exercise and Recreation Providers, which guides the operation of QLDC fitness and aquatic centres, states that transgender women should be treated the same as other women. Transgender women should therefore be able to attend women-only sessions and access other women’s spaces. Additionally, the Human Rights Act 1993 makes it unlawful for service providers to discriminate against individuals based on gender identity.
On that basis, transgender women are permitted to attend women-only swim sessions at QLDC facilities.
For the purposes of this response, “transgender” is understood as an individual whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Therefore, transgender women are individuals who were assigned male at birth but identify and live as women.
Our Verdict
Great facilities but it's all about the transgender individuals. Signage on the communal changing spaces needs to be updated to reflect the fact that they prioritise gender identity over sex.
Links to any provided documents