A Kirribilli swimmer who is quadriplegic has secured a commitment for two mobile pool hoists at the redeveloped North Sydney Olympic Pool after mounting a community petition campaign that drew more than 2,000 signatures and drew attention to the absence of the accessibility equipment from a $120 million pool overhaul.
Julia Laverty, who has restricted movement after breaking her neck in a road crash, was a regular lap swimmer at the historic North Sydney pool before it closed for refurbishment five years ago. When she looked into whether she could return to independent swimming at the new facility, due to open on 7 August 2026, she made a discovery that stopped her cold: no hoist had been included in the redevelopment plans.
The original pool had a fixed hoist that allowed Laverty and other swimmers with disabilities, mobility limitations or other conditions to enter the water independently. Its absence from the new complex meant a ramp and aquatic wheelchair system would be the only accessibility option — a solution that, for Laverty, carried a significant hidden cost.
“Before the redevelopment, I went to the pool by myself, there was a hoist, and I paid $10 for pool access,” she said. “Now it will cost $150 per swim because I have to pay a carer.”
The calculation was straightforward and troubling. Using the ramp without a hoist would have required Laverty to engage and pay a carer to push her aquatic wheelchair to the pool’s edge, enter the water to assist her, wait while she completed her laps, re-enter the water at the end of the session and help her back out and up the ramp. What had been an independent $10 swim would become a $150 assisted exercise.
The petition, the problem and the pushback
Laverty took the issue public. A community petition grew to more than 2,000 signatures, and media coverage followed. Her case also highlighted a pointed contrast in how the facility’s budget had been spent: the $120 million redevelopment, which the final cost reached approximately $122 million after initial budget variations, included a gelato bar, a sauna and a steam room, but did not include hoists.
The North Sydney authority’s initial response cited corrosion as the reason a fixed poolside hoist had not been planned, arguing that constant exposure to water, humidity and pool chemicals would make a fixed unit unreliable and frequently out of service. A ramp with aquatic wheelchair access was offered as the alternative.
Laverty’s response to the corrosion concern was direct: buy a portable hoist and keep it stored safely between uses. The practicality of the suggestion was hard to argue with, and it turned out to be close to exactly what would eventually be confirmed.
Two hoists confirmed before opening day
North Sydney’s infrastructure team confirmed in writing that two SR Smith PAL2 mobile pool lifts would be made available to swimmers at the new facility, covering both the outdoor and indoor pools. Swimmers will be able to book a hoist online ahead of their visit.
In a statement, the North Sydney authority said it had not proposed a fixed poolside hoist due to concerns about access, safety and reliability, but that the two mobile hoists would complement the zero-depth entry points and ramp access available at both the indoor and outdoor 50-metre pools.
For Laverty, the outcome is the right one practically as well as symbolically. A lifeguard will bring the mobile hoist to the pool’s edge, and she can then operate it independently to enter the water herself.
“I think it was an oversight,” Laverty said. “If you’re not in my situation, you just wouldn’t fully think through the consequences of a ramp-only solution.”
“These are the hoists that are most appropriate for independent use because you don’t have to wait around, getting the attention of the lifeguard when I’ve finished my swim. I can get out of the pool myself. It would have been soul destroying if I had lost my independence.”
She described the result as an “absolute win.”
North Sydney pool opens 7 August
The North Sydney Olympic Pool opens to the public on 7 August 2026, more than five years after closing for its redevelopment. The facility sits at Miller Street, North Sydney, and bookings for the opening period can be made through the North Sydney pool website at northsydney.nsw.gov.au.
Swimmers with accessibility requirements who wish to book a hoist for their visit are encouraged to do so online ahead of arrival.
Published 18-June-2026
