Good point there – the only ‘legacy’ station I’ve seen refitted is the lifts at Blackburn station, compensation from LXRA leaving the leaking subway in place.

The big money is currently being spent on the at grade stations, most of which did/do were/are relatively flat. The older grade separations are where most of the non-accessible ramps (as well as some other non-ramp accessibility issues) are, so they are mostly not getting the expenditure to fix them.

Both are needed, but platform gap fillers are cheaper and easier to install than wholesale rebuilding of platforms.

There is the “Public Transport Access Committee” which is consulted on projects:

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/footer/legal-and-policies/public-transport-access-committee/

But I think the real problem is that Melbourne is an aging rail system built before accessibility was considered, and there isn’t a commitment to spend the big money on bring it up to modern standards.

Large gaps and platform height aside, the condition of most of suburban Melbourne’s platforms is appalling too, with moss growing on a fair number of stations (even premium stations) and brown gunk leaking down the walls of too many subways/underpasses to mention (Flinders Street and Glenferrie are notable enough); the older style tactile bumps installed in the Connex era are smooth on top and make people slip over in the wet (if the plastic bumps haven’t disintegrated, ended up on the tracks or are jutting out a mile because they were joined in strips and half have fallen out, making you trip over instead); a lot of platforms have dips in them (even when recently resurfaced!) which end up turning into large puddles as soon as Melbourne’s trademark weather does its thing. Never mind the fact that the newer stations have about a 2 metre gap between the train and the canopy (roof awning) so you get wet anyway. That’s before I mention the bus bays that are a mile from the station and in the open, with a tiny shelter if lucky – sorry, a glass canvas to make money off advertising, which may not even come with a seat when you’re waiting for that typically once-an-hour bus (putting a seat in the way of illuminated 8 foot tall signs or LCD panels is never a good thing apparently, especially when advertising something like Toyota around public transport).

I would like to see the government actively engage and employ people with disabilities to highlight the key issues and rectify them, removing just some of the barriers people with disabilities face in daily life