Keywords:
laundry practice, standards, environmental health, Indigenous health
Abstract:
Introduction:
Access to facilities for washing clothes and bedding, recognised as Healthy Living Practice 2 (HLP2), remains limited in many rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Communal laundry facilities are one option to support HLP2 and are being established to specific health outcomes. However, relevant standards to ensure consistent outcomes are unclear. This review explores whether the existing Australian Standard for Laundry Practice (AS 4146:2024) meets the needs of community laundry stakeholders.
Objective:
To explore the applicability of AS 4146:2024 to rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community laundries, with a focus on health priorities.
Design:
Qualitative document analysis of AS 4146:2024, involving sequential individual review and annotation followed by structured group discussions. Thematic analysis was used to identify areas of alignment and current limitations of the standard.
Findings:
Five themes emerged: scale, place, priorities, laundry users, and cultural considerations. Guidance relating to scale, place, and priorities was largely misaligned with community contexts, reflecting assumptions of large, industrial facilities and prioritisation of aesthetic outcomes over public health. Considerations for laundry users and culture were absent. The standard in its current form does not adequately address small-scale, mobile, or modular laundries, direct community use, environmental and infrastructure constraints, or the primary goal of pathogen reduction.
Discussion:
AS 4146:2024 addresses industrial-scale operations and aesthetic priorities, overlooking the unique cultural, practical, and health/wellbeing needs of rural and remote community laundry service providers and users. Increased accessibility, specific operational guidance, and appropriate performance measures are recommended.
Conclusion:
AS 4146:2024 does not adequately support community laundry services in rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settings. Revised or alternative guidance is required to support equitable and effective laundry practices.