ACCESSING OUR EVENTS

Better Together® 2024

• FRIDAY 14th - Saturday 15th June 2024

• GMHBA Stadium, 370 Moorabool St, South Geelong, Victoria

Thank you for your patience while we finalise the venue maps. The venue and surrounding grounds have been under renovation, and we have been unable to walk the final routes to take notes on accessibility of the space as we normally would. Construction has gone on longer than expected. The final outcome will make the space more accessible, and we’re excited about that. We have shared everything we know below, and will continue to update you.

WELCOME TO COUNTRY OPENING CEREMONY

📍Meeting point: Location

🕗 Start time: 9am

If you are able, we invite you to attend the Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony prior to the Opening Plenary.

This event will commence at 9am and take place at this location. If you park in the car park, and stand facing the stadium, walk around the stadium to your right, or anticlockwise around the stadium.

If you are coming from the train station, as you walk across the road and are facing the stadium for the first time, walk around to your left, or clockwise around the stadium.

From the meeting point, you will be let in via the gate, and we will gather on the boundary line of GMHBA Stadium on the grass.

After the Smoking Ceremony, we will walk together to the entrance stairs of GMHBA Stadium. Those who are able are invited to use the stairs to enter the stadium, and walk through to the Opening Plenary, which will begin immediately. Those who require the alternate route via the elevators will be escorted. Please be aware, this is a longer route.

We will provide travel maps and distances as soon as we are able.

The Opening Plenary will commence immediately at the end of The Long Walk in the Main Hall.

CHECK-IN

All attendees of the Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony event will be registered or “checked-in” and given your lanyard. You must wear your lanyard while you are in the venue. You may collect your conference tote bag at the top of the stairs as you finish the walk, or at the registration desk outside the elevators if you take the alternate route.

Train

The closest train stop is South Geelong Railway Station, approximately 850 metres from GMHBA Stadium, and the meeting point for The Long Walk. View on Google maps. According to the timetable as at 30 April 2024, you can catch the train from Southern Cross Station in Melbourne at 7.05am or 7.29am and arrive in time to participate in The Long Walk. Please check the VLine train times yourself closer to the event to confirm this information. The most you will pay for this trip is $10.60 if you travel to and from Geelong to Melbourne in a single day. The trip takes an hour and ten minutes. If you do not already have a Myki Card, make sure you leave time to purchase one from a machine or the counter at Southern Cross station.

Taxis

There are multiple taxi companies operating in Geelong. Uber is also operational in Geelong and surrounds.

Buses

Many bus lines go past GMHBA Stadium through Geelong. We suggest using the Public Transport Victoria (PTV) Journey Planner to find the best route from your accomodation.

GMHBA Stadium has a large amount of parking available to the public for free, however the car park is expected to fill up with Better Together attendees, stadium staff, players, and those using the surrounding community sports grounds. If you are driving, we recommend you arrive in the morning to ensure you can park close by.

We recommend people with a disability and/or have an accessible parking permit park within the car park as close to The Cats Shop as possible, as this will give you the shortest possible travel distance to the conference. You can enter the stadium via the shop entrance, and take the elevator or escalator up to the conference registration area.

The Better Together® 2024 conference is spread across three floors with lift access to all levels. There will be colour-coded signage to assist with finding each room.

There will be charging points for mobility devices. There will be seating available in the social space, power docks and charging stations as well as a quiet space and counselling room.

To ensure a smooth flow of movement in the venue and to minimise noise please avoid congregating at exits and entrance ways.

There are two lifts located centrally to the conference, which will be used to access the ground floor entrance, the main floor, and room 6, and one lift specifically for accessing room 5.

The two lifts in the main area will need to be used by all attendees to access room 6. In this case, anyone in a weelchair or using a mobility device should move to the front of the line for the lift.

Attendees moving to the ground floor should use the escalator when possible. The lift to room 5 should only be used by visitors who are unable to use the stairs. Please do not use the lifts if you are able to use the stairs to Room 5. We appreciate your cooperation.

Please arrive early on the first day to allow ample time to find the venue, register yourself and settle in.

All attendees will be required to wear their lanyard while in the venue. If this poses a problem for you, please get in touch so we can work out an alternate arrangement.

The conference will be held on three levels of the stadium. Wheelchair users and attendees unable to use the stairs can move between levels via the lifts. Please follow directions from our volunteers to find the nearest lift.

Please plan extra time to access rooms 5 and 6, as these are some distance away. Exact travel maps and distances will be provided as soon as we are able. All travel areas are undercover and will be well signed.

If you are able to use the stairs or escalators please avoid using the lifts.

The standard chair in all rooms is a chair without arms.

All general sessions will take place in rooms without a stage. There is no step up to speak.

All speakers can choose to sit or stand. There will be wireless handheld microphones in each room, which speakers are asked to use, to aid with recording and to help anyone who is hard of hearing to engage with the session. There will be roving microphones for questions.

For speakers who require it, there will be one portable microphone stand in each room, so you don’t have to hold the microphone.

Access signs will be clearly visible and direct persons to gender neutral and accessible toilets located throughout the Centre. Please refrain from using chemical aerosol sprays (eg. perfumes or deodorants) while in the venue.

There is a changing places bathroom at the Stadium. If you require access to this facility, please let us know ahead of time if possible, or when you arrive so that we can ensure you have timely access and are not left waiting.

HAND SANITISER AND HAND WASH 🧴

People with sensitivities are recommended to bring their own hand sanitiser and hand wash.

Our volunteers will be your guides during the conference. They will be visible in volunteer badges, or Thorne Harbour Health t-shirts. Please ask them for assistance and any support you may need. If you cannot find a volunteer please ask for help at the registration desk.

Make sure you visit the exhibitor stalls outside the Main Hall near the registration desk. They will be sharing information on a range of rainbow-friendly and rainbow-specific services. Come and say Hi!

You can purchase food in the Social Space, or downstairs at the cafe.

We will ensure that gluten free options are available, and that a variety of alternative milks is on offer.

Please note that there will be a 10 minute break between every session, for the purpose of moving between rooms. This break may not be sufficient to travel between the two furthest spaces, especially if there are a high number of people waiting to use the lift. Please plan your schedule accordingly.

There is no designated lunch break. This is both to avoid a rush at the cafes, and therefore long wait times, and to acknowledge that people have different food needs. We therefore encourage you to self-manage your food breaks, and feel free to take a break at any time.

You are welcome to bring your food and drink to any session particularly during the "lunch hour" when some sessions will continue to run. Food can be purchased from the Social Space, which has a dedicated kitchen, or from the cafe downstairs.

The area to the right of the elevator on level 3 will be designated as a quiet space. You can access this room anytime during the conference if you need time and space to chill out away from the crowd.

The lights in this area will be dimmed as much as possible, and soft furniture provided to sit on.

THINGS TO NOTE

There will be sensory items, quiet places to sit, power stations to recharge devices and a counselor to talk to if needed. Please restrict conversation and maintain low noise levels while using the quiet space.

😎 Please bring sunglasses to the conference if you are sensitive to light, we cannot guarantee there will be low-lit spaces.

🎧 Please bring headphones or earplugs to the conference if you are sensitive to noise, there will be PA announcements, loud conversations and large groups of people in confined spaces.

🧴The function spaces for the conference do not supply hypoallergenic soaps in bathrooms, please bring your own if required. Hand sanitiser will be provided however we do not know the brand, so please bring your own if required.

Attendees are welcome to wear a mask, however it is not mandatory. 😷

Please see a volunteer for directions on how to locate and access the quiet space.

The best place to meet people, have a chat and make new connections will be in the Social Space. Food and drink will be available for purchase here. There will be standard height tables and chairs, and stand up bar tables.

The Communi-Tea gatherings will be held at one end of the Social Space on Day 2 (Saturday). Check the program to see when your parts of the community are gathering together.

As the southern end of the Social Space backs onto one of the session rooms, we ask that you keep this end quieter to avoid disrupting ongoing talks on the other side of the wall. The Social Space is large, so there’s heaps of room towards the middle and northern end of this space to laugh and chat with friends, new and old.

Please avoid congregating at entrances and exits.

While the conference will be conducted in an inclusive, supportive and culturally safe space for LGBTIQA+ people, some of the content may be challenging, uncomfortable, or confronting at times. As a participant, you are expected to support the wellbeing of yourself and others.

If any of the content during the conference brings up issues for you and you need support, counsellors will be available on site. This service is being offered with the support of Queerspace. To arrange an appointment, please text the number on the back of your conference lanyard nametag, or see a volunteer or staff member at the registration desk (service available from 14-15 June only). The counselling room will be located on Level 3, past the quiet space.

If you are waiting to see a counsellor, we encourage you to wait in the quiet space if you wish to move away from the noisier downstairs environment.

At the conclusion of the conference you can get support by contacting:

• QLife 1800 184 527

• Lifeline 13 11 14

If you hold a government issued Companion Card you will be eligible for a free ticket for your companion to assist you in attending the event.

If you want us to have your support worker contact details during the conference, please email them to disability@equality.org.au.

For more information on the Companion Card, please visit www.companioncard.gov.au.

The Equality Project® is not an NDIS provider. While we are committed to promoting equity and inclusion for all individuals, we do not offer support and services to people with disability under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). We apologise for any confusion this may have caused and encourage you to contact the NDIS directly for more information on available providers and services.

Auslan interpreting will be provided all day for both days. If you require additional Auslan interpreting we encourage you to include this activity in your NDIS plan ahead of time. You can also book an interpreter for free if you are over 65. Find out more by visiting: auslanconnections.com.au/deaf-seniors-interpreting.

We encourage you to let us know ahead of time if you wish to make use of Auslan interpreting, so we can put you in touch with the interpreting team.

Digital and braille signage is located throughout the venue to provide direction to users of the venue.

A hearing augmentation system (hearing loop) will be available. Headsets are available to access the hearing loop. Please contact a volunteer if you will need one.

An audible PA system is installed throughout the Centre and is used in the event of an emergency.

Our aim in hosting events is to build community. To that end, our goal is to create an environment where everyone feels welcome to participate, contribute, ask questions, and engage in conversation. We value diversity and we invite all those who participate in this event to help us create “safe and brave”, positive experiences for everyone. Please read our event terms and conditions.

Please report any concerns to our volunteers during the conference.

For Better Together® 2024, we are using an event scheduling app called Eventee that will provide an interactive and personalised experience for attendees and speakers. All conference information will be available in the Eventee app. Access to the app will be released 4 weeks prior to the conference.

📄 If you require a paper copy of the schedule to support your attendance of Better Together, please contact disability@equality.org.au.

We will also have a copy of the program on the wall at the conference, printed on A0 Posters. Please be aware that any printed copy of the program, including these posters, will not contain the same level of detail as the app, due to constraints in keeping font sizes legible and easy to read.

We’ve negotiated accommodation discounts and secured a limited number of reduced-rate hotel rooms to make your trip to Geelong cost affordable. Visit the Accommodation Page to see the latest deals.

👩🏽‍🦽 Disability information: disability@theequalityproject.org.au

📧 General inquiries: Contact us at mail@theequalityproject.org.au