AdvocateNT is conducting an accessibility review in response to concerns raised by members of the community.
Accessibility means designing products, services, or environments so everyone can use and understand them, regardless of their abilities or access needs. It removes barriers, ensuring people with †disabilities can participate equally, independently, and with equivalent ease of use.
† Includes older people, mobility, vision and age-related issues.
What is accessibility
Physical Environments
Designing buildings, transportation, and public spaces so they are navigable by everyone. Examples include wheelchair ramps, automatic doors, and tactile paving.
Communication
Providing information in clear, easy-to-understand formats. Examples include using plain language, providing closed captions on videos, and translating documents into Braille or Easy Read.
Digital & Web
Making software, websites, and apps usable for people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. This often involves screen reader compatibility, alt-text for images, and clear navigation.
Why accessibility matters
When accessibility is prioritized, it fosters inclusion, allowing a wider audience to engage with information, employment, education, and entertainment. In the digital space, this is often guided by standardized frameworks.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) protects people from disability discrimination and promotes a more accessible society. It administers the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), provides national Digital Accessibility Guidelines, and provides a free service for lodging complaints.
Legal Obligations & Rights
Under the DDA, businesses and organizations must ensure equal access to goods, services, and employment unless it causes unjustifiable hardship.
Reasonable Adjustments: Service providers and employers are required to make reasonable adjustments (physical, digital, or structural) to accommodate people with disabilities.
Digital Access: Organisations must ensure their websites and apps meet the accessibility standards required by the DDA, enabling users of all abilities to independently navigate, perceive, and operate digital platforms.
Accessibility Awareness Training
Team members who interact with anyone with any disability or are in an older demographic should have the appropriate training to protect the dignity, equality, independence and requirements of the individual.
Background
Accessibility Scope for the Northern Territory
In the Greater Darwin region, approximately 11% of the population is aged 65 and over, which equates to roughly 17,500 people.
Breakdown:
- 65-69 years: 5,252
- 70-74 years: 4,120
- 75-79 years: 2,307
- 80-84 years: 1,306
- 85 years and over: 833
While the Royal Agricultural Society of Northern Territory continues to ignore the community the above photo has been supplied by a concerned member of the community that shows no attempt to safely accommodate wheelchair access.
20th July 2026
Community Submitted Issues
Royal Darwin Show 2025 - Darwin Showgrounds
Lived Experience #1
The following has been received from a territorian who is dependent on a wheelchair and accessibility is key, the text below has not been edited and relates to an experience at the 2025 Royal Darwin Show.
The ticket booth (entry and exit access) at the Royal Darwin Showgrounds at Tate Place, Winnellie, remains inaccessible to wheelchair users and others with mobility assistance.
I could not access the Showgrounds like other ticket holders because a wheelchair cannot climb or descend steps. The entry and exit have steps, instead of a kerb ramp or dropped kerb.
The remainder of the Showgrounds are largely accessible; however we cannot safely access or exit the venue.
The staff managing the tickets tried to convince me to attempt the steps, after I had refused their initial persuasions to carry me in my 200kg+ electric wheelchair. My wheelchair nearly flipped over upon impact on the step, and it could have easily killed a bystander as well as myself.
After having to prove the problem, and undergo public humiliation in the process, I had to access the Showgrounds via the commercial truck unpaved entry with a staff member unlocking the gates and having to rely on their presence as escort hours later when I was ready to leave. On returning to leave, my family support and I were challenged once again at the ticket booth and were compelled to prove the hazards of a wheelchair flipping over on the steps.
It is not the answer. We should not need permission to enter or leave an entertainment event or have our rights for public access denied.
The only fix is to update the ticket booth with the required dropped kerbs. I appreciate that not every exhibit is wheelchair accessible within the showgrounds, however the ticket booth should be wheelchair accessible without compromise.
I have raised my concerns with the Royal Darwin Show committee on the day but I have received no response.
We are made to feel like our presence, money, or participation in the community is not appreciated or belongs there. I, and others, will greatly appreciate the required reasonable renovation to the booth completed in time for the 2026 Royal Darwin Show.
It will also benefit the elderly, parents, and children after the disabled community.
- To promote, encourage and assist the development of Primary Industry, commercial, cultural activities, mining and industrial resources of the Northern Territory.
- To promote, encourage and assist the development of the Society’s Showgrounds as an exhibition and trade promotion centre.
- To promote, encourage and assist the development of liaison and communication with Government, private industry and the community as a whole.
- To promote, encourage and assist the development of Education and cultural exchange intrastate, interstate and internationally.
- Encourage, promote and sanction the formation of affiliated societies and to affiliate with other bodies with the same or kindred objects.
Source: https://darwinshow.com.au/about-us/
Chief Executive at Royal Agricultural Society of Northern Territory: Cherry Court
Mobility Devices
The evidence videos show the following mobility device attending the 2025 Royal Darwin Show is a Levo C3 Standing Power Wheelchair.
Chair weight: 185kg
Overall dimensions: 110 cm Length x 64 cm Width
Maximum safe slope: 10º
Suitable for indoor and outdoor mobility on flat even surfaces. LEVO doesn’t recommend driving on uneven, soft or steeply slopping ground.
Editor: as an older person who was discharged from Royal Darwin Hospital with ongoing pain as a result of knee arthroscopy in both knees and requiring knee replacements, I found it challenging to navigate the uneven ground from car park to ticket booth.
I have also received complaints in relation to taxi’s with wheelchair facilities not having a dedicated area close to the main entrance.
A question that needs to be answered by the Royal Agricultural Society Northern Territory Inc is does the Darwin Show Grounds meet the following accessibility requirements?
Accessibility means designing products, services, or environments so everyone can use and understand them, regardless of their abilities or access needs. It removes barriers, ensuring people with †disabilities can participate equally, independently, and with equivalent ease of use.
† Includes older people, mobility, vision and age-related issues.
On the 30th of June we contacted a Darwin City councilor to determine if the Darwin Show Grounds are part of their responsibility, The response to find out was immediate.
2nd July we received the following response:
“Darwin Showgrounds are not a City of Darwin asset. **Landowners are the Royal Agricultural Society of the Northern Territory Incorporated and the Darwin Greyhound Association of N.T. Incorporate. Unfortunately, City of Darwin has no control over those accessibility issues, and you can contact the owners directly.”
** This does not appear to be correct as suggested below
However, We started to investigate who insured the Darwin Showgrounds in relation to public liability and discovered the following:
“The Darwin Showgrounds are owned by the Northern Territory Government and managed by the Royal Agricultural Society of the Northern Territory Incorporated (RASNT). Their primary insurer is TIO Insurance (Territory Insurance Office), which is a division of Allianz Australia Insurance Limited.“
Public Liability Insurance
This is a guide only and may or may not apply to the Darwin Showgrounds or other venues, the reader should contact the venue for any concerns around safety while attending their venue.
This accessibility review\investigation is in progress.
Formal Complaint: Inadequate Accessibility for Mobility Aid Users at the Royal Darwin Show
The following email has been sent to: admin@darwinshow.com.au cc antidiscrimination@nt.gov.au On 18th July 2026
Media release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“DEATH TRAP” ENTRY: ADVOCATENT DEMANDS URGENT MINISTERIAL ACTION OVER SHAMEFUL DARWIN SHOWGROUNDS ACCESSIBILITY RAILROADING
DARWIN, NT – 22 July 2026 — AdvocateNT is calling on the Northern Territory Government to step in immediately after local show organizers ignored repeated warnings that the Darwin Showgrounds are unsafe for some members of our community. The site continues to block entry for over 2,000 local wheelchair users and 17,500 seniors with mobility related issues.
An investigation in June 2026 exposed severe breaches of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The main ticket booths at the Winnellie Showgrounds feature steep steps with no dropped kerbs or ramps.
Local wheelchair user Brenda (not her real name) described a harrowing experience, stating, “My wheelchair nearly flipped over upon impact on the step, and it could have easily killed a bystander as well as myself.” She added, “We should not need permission to enter or leave an entertainment event or have our rights for public access denied.”
Inside the grounds, uneven unpaved surfaces and grassed areas like Sideshow Alley are reportedly hazardous for elderly visitors and those with mobility aids. Despite formal complaints submitted on 18 July 2026, the Royal Agricultural Society of the Northern Territory (RASNT) has not responded.
“Locking vulnerable community members out or forcing them through truck gates is modern-day segregation,” said Craig Hubbard, founder of AdvocateNT. “The Northern Territory Government owns this land, and they must stop letting this committee ignore the law.”
AdvocateNT has demanded immediate action from Minister Charls regarding compliance and a capital upgrade plan. Evidence, including photos and videos, is available at https://advocatent.au.
Media Contact:
Craig Hubbard
Founder, AdvocateNT
Email: advocates@advocatent.au
Website: AdvocateNT.au
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