Accessible Beach program wins 2026 Vic Tidy Towns and Cities Award
Published on 01 October 2026
Accessible Beach program leads Frankston City to a 2026 Victorian Tidy Towns and Cities Award!
Frankston City Council’s commitment to embedding sustainable practices across Council has been recognised with the Social Wellbeing award at the 2026 Victorian Tidy Towns and Cities Awards.
The award, presented on Wednesday 30 September’s awards ceremony in Melbourne, recognised the Australia’s Most Accessible Beach project, an Australian-first pilot program making Frankston Beach a more accessible venue for people with disabilities or mobility challenges.
Delivered alongside Accessible Beaches Australia with support from Life Saving Victoria and Accessibility Australia, the program saw Frankston Beach transformed with 70 metres of beach matting, complimentary beach wheelchairs and walkers, and trained staff on hand to deliver the program over 30.5 operational days last summer.
More than 450 people participated in the program with 91.8% of participants surveyed saying that the program was their primary reason for visiting Frankston.
The success comes on the back of Council winning Victoria’s Tidy City in the Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria Tidy Towns and Cities Sustainability Awards, and claiming the Environment Award for the Growing Our Urban Forest initiative, in 2025.
Frankston City Council Mayor Sue Baker said the recognition was a hard-earned outcome for Council.
“On behalf of Frankston City Council I’d like to congratulate the entire project team involved in winning the Social Wellbeing award,” Mayor Baker said.
“It’s a proud moment for Frankston City and a credit to our staff, volunteers, partners and residents who share in these successes.
“These accolades reflect our City’s pride, passion and innovation - hallmarks of a City confidently evolving from a seaside town into a leading regional destination.”
The project was one of three Council or Council-supported finalists at the 2026 awards, alongside The Seaford Banksia Arboretum Project, a finalist in the Environmental Category, and the Creative Circularity program, a finalist in the Behaviour Change and Education category.
Council also finished second in the overall 2026 Tidy Town award, which it won in 2025.
Australia’s Most Accessible Beach will return to Frankston for another huge Summer, operating every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for set hours from December to February, boosted by the new Changing Places facility to be located at the Frankston Foreshore.
Learn more about the Most Accessible Beach program at Australia's Most Accessible Beach - Frankston