Livvi's Place Five Dock: All-Abilities Playground

Livvi’s Place Five Dock: All-Abilities Playground

Livvi’s Place in Five Dock, Sydney, is a playground designed for children of all abilities. The equipment and unique design of the playground ensures that all kids, including those with special needs, are able to enjoy playing side-by-side.

Livvi’s Place playgrounds are an initiative of the Touched by Olivia Foundation. There are now a series of Livvi’s Place playgrounds in Sydney, each designed in consultation with leading academics, play, disability, and landscape experts and the local community.

The aim of Livvi’s Place playgrounds is to reduce the barriers experienced by children with special needs and their families, helping to give them a level playing field for life.

Livvi’s Place was designed to cater to children with all forms of disability, including mobility, vision and hearing impairment as well as spectrum disorders such as autism.

Walking into Livvi’s Place is akin to entering Wonderland. The playground is beautifully bright, with exciting elements to be explored across a large, enclosed space, all linked by a paved, flat track, perfect for cycling, scooting, prams or wheelchairs.

Central to the playground is a shaded merry-go-round, with buttons to press to make it go different speeds. Nearby are slides that have ramps to access them, a mini ropes course and large musical instruments.

There is a flying fox with a bucket seat so all kids can have a ride.

More features include a toddler area with swings, a small slide and a spinning purple flower.

There are several shaded picnic tables inside the playground plus a BBQ.

A small, sandy water play area is a fun place for summer, with taps and sinks for kids to fill buckets with and create all kinds of fun in the sand.

Dotted around the hills of the playground are imaginative play areas, like a little cafe front.

Outside the gated playground is a kiosk (is was closed when we visited). The kiosk usually sells basics like banana bread and milkshakes, and some of the profit is returned to the Touched by Olivia Foundation.