One of Australia and New Zealand’s largest music festivals, Laneway, has recently received major criticism concerning the lack of accessibility in all six of its events. Glass Magazine received many accounts from disabled patrons, carers, and essential companions detailing a lack of accessible toilet facilities, poor planning and communication, mistreatment by security and staff, and inaccessible stages and viewing platforms that were too few and too small.
Laneway 2026 on the Gold Coast was the first music festival that our Editor-in-Chief,
Riley Bampton, and his partner, Hayley Poole, decided to attend since Hayley became an ambulatory wheelchair user. From their accounts and others—the festival was quick to disappoint.
Due to a lack of direction from security and staff, many disabled festival goers were forced to struggle across a large, grassed area and enter through general admission, only to find that there was an accessible entrance that did not appear on any official maps.
Once inside, staff advised patrons with mobility aids to avoid Joccy’s stage, as it wasn’t accessible, cutting off disabled festival goers from a quarter of the acts on the lineup. This wasn’t mentioned in the information pack that was sent to accessible ticket holders. Rick Dower described the trek to Joccy’s stage in a statement to Glass.
“I really wanted to see Teen Jesus, so we made our way as best as we could. It required me to be out of the chair using both a cane and the fencing to climb up the hill, while my wife pushed the empty chair up to use when we finally got up there.”
Only two of the four stages had accessibility viewing platforms. Staff and security either didn’t know where the platforms were or directed disabled patrons through inaccessible routes. Festival goers reported difficulty reaching accessible viewing areas due to steep ramps and overcrowding. Riley and their partner Raine spoke to Glass about the experience.
“When my partner went through the accessibility entrance, they weren’t given an accessibility wristband. This meant that when they finally got into the event, they were denied entry to the viewing platform, despite being in a wheelchair. [We] had to beg for staff to let them in despite their ‘error’.”
The only disabled toilet marked on any official maps was located on the accessibility platform for the “Good Better Best” stage. Halfway through the event, everyone was notified that the toilet was filled and would be unusable for the rest of the night. The only other disabled toilet was located on the other side of the festival, next to the main entrance.
There was no water station on the platform, forcing disabled attendees to venture back down the steep ramp and across grass to the free water station. Unfortunately, by 4pm almost all the water stations were empty.
Laneway received criticism for the size and seating options of their accessible viewing platforms. Hayley Poole provided commentary on the situation.
“There were little to no seating options for people who weren’t in wheelchairs. disabled non-wheelchair users, carers and friends had to stand for the entire night or sit on the floor. During most of the night, it was impossible to move around the platform.”
Hannah Simmonds described the platforms as “quite dangerous” in their statement to Glass.
Problems continued in the VIP area. There was no accessible entrance to the VIP area in the festival grounds; disabled attendees had to be escorted by staff and security to the entrance of Southport Sharks to access the area. They were informed that they would have to be escorted on any trips back to general admission or the toilet. Rick Dower provided a statement to Glass about the constant battle for accessibility in VIP.
“VIP had couches and everyone else was sitting on the floor in front of them… they then decided that everyone must stand, and when my wife asked how wheelchair users would be accommodated, the security guard yelled at her… they ended up making a makeshift accessibility area for us by placing a bollard and rope behind us. After more people voiced their concern on how we were being treated, we ended up with chairs in there too for others with mobility issues or carers.”
Festival staff were described as “doing their best” with the lack of planning and training given. Hayley Poole and their partner witnessed staff standing back while a patron had a POTS inducted fainting episode. Other festival goers were forced to step in and help. By the time paramedics arrived, the patron had recovered entirely.
Security was abusive, undertrained, and at times violent. Several wheelchair users said that they were referred to by security solely as “wheelchair”. A particular run in with security was described by festival goer, Samara Lee, after she was spotted by security during a POTS flare up.
“He stated that he did not know what POTS was and said I did not look like I was going to faint. I showed him my medical alert bracelet, which includes a QR code with my health information. This was not acknowledged, and he continued holding my arm until I began walking away. He then followed me over a significant distance toward the area under the EE tent and, despite my blurred vision, left me there without offering medical assistance or help accessing care.”
Accessible exits were few and difficult to find. Most disabled attendees were made to exit out of the main entrance with the rest of the enormous crowd. One of the only disability exits was located in the middle of a main pathway. This meant that staff had to forcibly stop the surging crowds to let disabled patrons use the exit. Many able-bodied festival goers tried to squeeze through the gate as well. Riley Bampton witnessed an incident in which an able-bodied person trying to use the accessibility exit was pushed by security into a disabled attendee, injuring them. When the attendee’s carer complained to security, they requested the name and badge number of the guard but were refused.
These problems were not solely found at the Gold Coast leg of the festival or even this year. Sophie Duncan attended the Brisbane Laneway Festival in 2025. In their statement to Glass, they described many of the same problems that resurfaced in 2026.
“The whole day was very difficult and the accommodations that were advertised and also personally told to me were not provided. And the way I was treated by security at the end of the night was horrid and still some of the worst treatment I’ve ever gotten in relation to my disabilities. I also find it appalling that not one security guard I talked to on my way out knew what the disabled wristband or hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard meant, meaning I wasn’t able to access the accommodations I desperately needed in that moment. I’ve experienced poor accessibility at other festivals, but Laneway has by far been the worst.”
After the backlash, Laneway released a statement on their Instagram story and provided others to specific media outlets. However, when Glass reached out for comment, Laneway did not respond.
Glass Magazine would like to thank everyone who contributed to this article. Their names are listed here:
Samara Lee
Hannah Simmonds
Rick Dower
Riley and Raine
Soph Duncan
Hayley Poole
Riley Bampton
