Altona Meadows boy Alex Gatt is among those who will benefit when Altona and Williamstown beaches become wheelchair- accessible.
Following a successful trial last summer, Hobsons Bay council will this week roll out beach matting for wheelchairs and provide beach wheelchairs for use on the sand and in the water.
The move coincides with the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
Williamstown and Altona beaches are expected to be fully accessible year-round by 2020.
Alex, 13, was diagnosed with the genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy at age two. The degenerative neuromuscular disease causes weak muscles and poor respiratory function, and it confined Alex to a wheelchair.
The year 7 student at Altona P-9 College said that last summer he played on Altona beach for the first time when the council trialled a Sandcruiser all-terrain wheelchair.
“At the beach, without the wheelchair and mat, there’s not much I can do, so I really like it, [the Sandcruiser]” Alex said.
His mother, Lina Gatt, said that last year Alex had a ball playing in the sand with his younger brother for the first time.
The pair welcomed news that a full-size change table and hoist would be installed at Bayfit Leisure Centre in Altona North in January.
This will benefit those who previously had to return home to use the toilet or be put in a dangerous and unhygienic situation.
