Across Canberra's construction sites, women workers are stepping away from their jobs simply to find a toilet — a quiet indignity that reveals how workplaces built by many hands were not always built with all workers in mind. The law already requires adequate sanitary facilities, yet enforcement remains uneven and the culture of assumption persists, particularly on smaller residential builds where margins are tight and women's needs are still treated as optional extras. What is unfolding is not merely a compliance failure but a deeper reckoning with who construction sites were designed for, an
Canberra construction sites lack basic sanitary facilities for women workers
Women workers experience reduced productivity, health impacts from inability to manage menstruation privately, and workplace intimidation when advocating for basic hygiene needs.