Sunshine Coast dog policy changes leave disabled daughter unable to access off-leash beach

Elisa Wood says her 12-year-old daughter, Sophie, loves sitting on the beach watching the family's border collie while her brother and father surf.

But that is no longer possible after the Sunshine Coast Council changed its dog policy across the region, leaving the family's local off-leash beach at Point Cartwright only accessible via stairs.

"Getting down the steps or walking across an extended soft sand is just not physically manageable for her or us," Ms Wood said.

Her daughter was born with polymicrogyria, a congenital brain condition which means she is non-verbal and frequently requires a wheelchair.

"It was a space where we could be in a beautiful environment with our puppy dog and Soph, and that's not really achievable now," Ms Wood said.

"It is really disappointing."

Environmental concerns drive changes

Council's new laws, which changed where dogs can go across the Sunshine Coast and reduced the size and number of dog beaches, came into effect on July 3.

There are no wheelchair-friendly off-leash dog beaches across the nearly 50 kilometres of coastline between Peregian Beach and Golden Beach.

Four beaches, Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland, Caloundra and Dicky Beach, do have capacity to support accessible access, but equipment, including wheelchair matting, must be pre-arranged with the local surf lifesaving club.

None of these beaches permit dogs.

In a statement to the ABC, a council representative said the changes were to balance dog exercise opportunities with community safety, shared use of public spaces and environmental protection.

The council representative said the process involved a Human Rights Assessment and "extensive community consultation" including with representatives from disability organisations.

"Council recognise that beaches and parks play an important role in recreation, connection and wellbeing for our community, and acknowledges that changes to familiar places can be difficult."

The council did not respond to the ABC's questions about providing access to a dog beach for people with disabilities but referred to its 2024-2028 All Abilities Action Plan online.

The five-year plan currently does not specify plans for an accessible dog beach.

Richard Fuller from the University of Queensland's School of the Environment said dogs in South-East Queensland were a "major source of disturbance" for migratory shorebirds that travelled thousands of kilometres from Siberia and Alaska.

"It's already illegal to significantly disturb migratory birds, so council does have an obligation to act in this space," Professor Fuller said.

"Importantly, a controlled dog has a much smaller impact than one running loose."

Disability groups call for compromise

Queenslanders with Disability Network said an accessible off-leash beach was one of very few, genuinely inclusive recreation spaces for people with disability.

"Losing that tends to bring isolation, with real flow-on effects for mental health and community belonging," deputy chief executive officer Paige Armstrong said.

Ms Armstrong said addressing environmental concerns could be managed while ensuring accessibility.

"That means retaining or creating a genuinely accessible pathway to at least one off-leash area and co-designing any changes with the people who actually use the space."

Less than 2 per cent of beaches across Australia are accessible

Accessible Beaches Australia works toward creating more equitable beach access nationally.

Project officer Bern Walker said the council's change was "extremely disappointing".

"Out of the 12,000 beaches in Australia, less than 2 per cent are actually accessible to people with disabilities and mobility limitations, and very few of those are accessible all the time," she said.

"By not including access for [people with disability], the message that you're saying is you are not welcome and you are less valued than other people in society."

Ms Walker said community and stakeholder engagement was crucial.

Ms Wood said she was involved in the council's community consultation phase, including submitting feedback advocating for accessibility, however felt "overwhelmingly ignored".

"It's really disheartening when that process just seems to have very little impact on the decision-making.

"I would love them to reconsider and create more balance to allow even just limited access for people like Sophie and our family with their dogs so that we can share the area like everyone else."

In a statement, council said there was no intention to review the policy and a formal review would only commence in 2030.