Brisbane Airport’s International Terminal has been awarded Australia’s Best Bathroom Facility at the Best Bathroom Facility competition, run by Total Facilities. Total Facilities advocates design within commercial buildings but cleanliness is also of an utmost importance when judging the best in the country – these can range from shopping centres to recreational grounds and feature some of the most progressed organisations.

Event manager Andrew Lawson says that the competition’s aim is to push for bathroom and washroom wellbeing and cleanliness, with it being the largest facilities exhibition in Australia.

“A grotty restroom environment can make or break a company’s reputation. Our awards were established to encourage awareness and pride among Australia’s facilities and workplace management professionals. And they set a great precedent,” Andrew says.

What separates Brisbane Airport’s restrooms from others across Australia is the story-telling aspect that instantly emerges when a visitor walks in. Krishan Tangri, Brisbane Airport Corporation’s (BAC) General Manager Assets, believes that the brand new bathrooms should give an “all-important first impression of our city, state and country” in hope that it delights an international traveller before even setting foot on Australian soil. Brisbane Airport’s main goal was to give those who walked in a new and exciting experience, as well as comply with the new disability access legislation.

Australian icons surround the walls with images of Bondi Beach, Daintree rainforest as well as native Australian animals and images of the Queensland outback to really immerse each visitor in Australian life. Most importantly, state-of-the-art basins, toilets and hand-dryers have been installed.

BAC has also implemented a round-the-clock cleaning schedule to maintain a pristine facility that includes staff monitoring the area every 60 minutes to assure everything is sanitised. Furthermore, a feedback system has been installed that allows users to rate the bathroom’s level of cleanliness and hygiene from ‘very poor’ to ‘excellent’. Krishan Tangri further explained that customer interaction and feedback is pivotal in keeping the bathrooms at a consistently high level of cleanliness.

“This allows us to gain valuable insights into customer experience at key service points throughout the airport and alerts BAC’s cleaning supervisors when facilities are determined to be unacceptable by customers – e.g. when three or more ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ customer responses are received in less than five minutes,” Krishan said.

Arthur’s Seat State Park, Victoria, took out second place with an environmentally-friendly design that showcased the use of reusable energy, such as solar power, and an efficient onsite sewerage system.