The City's response to PerthNow about travelling sensory bags at City events, 16.2.26
Response atrributed to City of Cockburn Event Coordinator Emma Howe.
Question: How many bags will be available?
Answer: As part of a trial period, the City has rolled out 20 travelling sensory bags to meet a range of access needs.
- Tactile Sensory Bags
- Visual Sensory Bags
- Audio Sensory Bags
- Build-Your-Own Sensory Bags
Each bag contains a variety of sensory tools, with a primary focus on one key sensory input, allowing users to select supports that best meet their needs.
These are available to community members to hire for free in 2-hour blocks at all major City events and festivals.
Question: Will the bags be permanently available after the Sun Set free concert on Feb 21? Or available at future events?
Answer: The travelling sensory bags are currently being delivered as part of a trial. The plan is to roll them out initially at Cockburn Sun Sets on Saturday 21 February and at all major City events moving forward. Following a trial period we will review feedback, usage data, and community response.
Question: How much do the bags cost to put together?
Answer: The total cost of the project, including extensive community consultation and development, was $4,900. This amount covered the co-design process, procurement of sensory tools and materials, and preparation of the travelling sensory bags for implementation.
This figure does not include ongoing operational costs such as breakage, replacement of items or replenishment of consumables.
Question: Do you know if bags like these have been handed out elsewhere, or is this a WA first?
Answer: As far as we are aware, this is the first initiative of its kind specifically designed for use at large-scale events in WA and possibly Australia wide.
The concept was initially inspired by personal lived experience. In 2022, my daughter sustained a severe traumatic brain injury.
When she returned home from hospital months later I became acutely aware of how difficult and overstimulating events can be, particularly for neurodivergent people and those with sensory processing challenges.
Both as a mum and as an event manager, it became very clear to me that there is a lack of readily available, practical tools to help people regulate in large-scale, high-stimulus event environments. That gap is what sparked the initial concept, along with developing a full access and inclusion guide for
Coogee Live. I am pretty excited to see the project come to life!