Ballarat Aquatic & Lifestyle Centre (BALC) Changing Places and All Abilities Upgrades

The City of Ballarat is upgrading the BALC facilities to enable increased participation and more active recreation opportunities for people with disability and accessibility needs.

The project will deliver new Changing Places facilities, additional accessible and family friendly change rooms, and a range of broader accessibility improvements throughout the centre.

The BALC Changing Places and All Abilities Upgrades project is supported by the Victorian Government. 

These accessibility upgrades, due for completion by late 2026, will help ensure that BALC continues to support active recreation for all members of the Ballarat community. Construction will follow a staged approach to minimise disruptions for patrons.

Changing Places

A Changing Place facility is beyond the Building Code of Australia minimum requirements for accessible toilets. Changing Place facilities are more spacious than standard accessible toilets, offering extra features and plenty of room to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities and their carers. Changing Places enable people with high support needs to fully participate in all aspects of community life, without reducing their time out.

• Two Changing Places facilities (one with hoist and direct pool access).
• One Accessible Adult Change facility.  
• Conversion of two existing change rooms into accessible, friendly family change rooms.
• Refresh of existing accessible and family change rooms with new automatic sliding doors.
• New automatic sliding doors to all group fitness studios and the health club.
• New automated push‑button swing door between the pool deck and the café.
• Installation of automated gates with wider entry points to replace turnstile at the front entrance. 

The project has received more than $748,000 in funding from the Victorian Government’s Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund, along with a more than $449,000 contribution from the City of Ballarat.