AFLW Locker Rooms Australia | Women's AFL Change Room Design Guide

The Rise of Women’s AFL and What It Means for Facilities

When the AFL Women’s competition launched in 2017, it began with eight clubs and a relatively modest production. By 2026, AFLW comprises 18 clubs playing a full season, drawing broadcast audiences that rival many established men’s competitions, and generating genuine national interest in women’s football.

The growth of AFLW has been mirrored at every level of the game. State-level women’s competitions — the VFLW in Victoria, the WAFLW in Western Australia, the SANFLW in South Australia, the NSWWFL in New South Wales, and the NTFL Women’s competition in the Northern Territory — have all expanded substantially. Community AFL clubs across Australia have added women’s and girls’ teams as participation in women’s football has grown dramatically.

All of this growth creates a facilities question that every club at every level is working through: what does a properly designed women’s AFL locker room look like, and how do you build one?

This guide answers that question specifically for AFL and AFLW contexts. It covers storage requirements, design principles, facility standards, branding considerations, and the commercial realities clubs face when fitting out change rooms for women’s football programs.

Why AFLW Facilities Have Lagged and Why That Is Changing

The honest history of women’s AFL facilities is one of inadequacy. When women’s and girls’ teams began joining community AFL clubs in significant numbers through the 2010s, the facilities they were given were typically whatever was available — a converted storage room, an adapted officials’ room, or shared use of a men’s change room at off-peak times.

This was not malicious. It was a reflection of the fact that most club facilities were designed when the club ran men’s programs only, and women’s programs were added into whatever space remained. The result was that female athletes at AFL clubs were often training and playing at the same standard as male counterparts while using fundamentally inferior facilities.

This era is effectively over at the national and state league level, and it is rapidly ending at community level too. The AFL has published Women’s Football Facility Recommendations that set minimum standards for clubs participating in sanctioned women’s competitions. State bodies have adopted equivalent requirements. More significantly, the expectation among players, parents, and coaches has shifted: women’s teams at AFL clubs deserve proper facilities, and clubs that do not provide them are increasingly conspicuous.

For clubs at any level of the game, investing in a proper women’s locker room is no longer optional.

Storage Requirements for Women’s AFL Players

One of the first practical questions when designing an AFLW locker room is how much storage each player actually needs. This determines locker width, depth, and the overall footprint of the installation.

A women’s AFL player’s match kit includes:

• Home and away guernsey (teams carry both)
• Shorts
• Socks (often multiple pairs per season)
• AFL boots with studs — women’s sizes generally range from US 5 to US 10, with most falling in the smaller half of the men’s range
• Mouthguard
• Strapping tape and basic first aid items
• Bibs and training tops for warm-ups and training sessions
• Personal items — phone, wallet, keys
• Water bottle

Shoulder padding is increasingly standard in AFLW as the game has matured and players have become more professional about physical protection. This adds one more item to the locker storage list. It is less bulky than ice hockey shoulder pads but adds meaningful volume compared to typical community football kit.

The net result is a kit that is broadly similar in volume to a men’s AFL player’s kit — perhaps 10 to 15 per cent lighter without the heavier shoulder and hip padding that male players use in greater quantity. A 15-inch wide locker bay is workable. An 18-inch wide bay is the preferred specification for any representative or elite program, providing comfortable storage for the full kit plus room for personal items and accessories without cramming.

This specification — 18 inches — is the same recommendation we make for men’s AFL programs. When designing an AFLW change room, there is no reason to specify narrower bays on the assumption that women need less space. Design for the full kit, with room to spare.

Design Principles for AFLW Change Rooms

Separate, Purpose-Built Facilities

The first and non-negotiable principle: an AFLW change room must be a genuine, purpose-built facility. Not a converted storage room. Not a repurposed officials’ room. Not shared use of a men’s change room on a rotating schedule.

The NCC (National Construction Code) and AFL facility guidelines both specify separate, secure, appropriately sized change rooms for women’s programs. Beyond compliance, this is simply a matter of treating women’s football as a legitimate program rather than an afterthought. Players, coaches, and parents notice the difference between a genuine change room and a converted space, and the signal that a converted space sends is the wrong one.

If a club’s existing facility does not include a purpose-built women’s change room, the realistic options are either a new construction or a significant renovation. Modular timber locker systems can adapt to most room shapes, but the room itself needs to be a real change room with appropriate lighting, ventilation, and access control.

Sizing for the Squad

AFLW squads at national level typically carry 30 to 40 players. State league women’s squads vary but commonly run 25 to 35 players. Community women’s and girls’ teams may be smaller — 18 to 25 players at senior level.

Design the locker installation for the full squad size with a small buffer for growth. A change room designed for 25 players that serves a squad that grows to 30 will be cramped within two seasons. Factor in the club’s realistic growth trajectory when specifying the number of bays.

Appropriate Height and Ergonomics

Standard locker height specifications — typically 72 inches overall — work for both men’s and women’s programs. There is no need to modify height specifications. The ergonomics of reaching upper shelving and hanging areas are compatible across typical height ranges.

Lighting, Ventilation, and Amenities

These are facility design questions rather than locker design questions, but they are part of the change room as a whole. AFLW change rooms should have good lighting — not warehouse lighting — appropriate ventilation for a high-use space, and access to showers and toilets that meet AFL facility standards. The locker installation sits within a broader facility context, and the overall quality of the change room is defined by all of these elements together.

Branding and Club Identity in AFLW Locker Rooms

AFLW clubs have strong, distinct identities. The 18 national AFLW clubs each have their own colour palette, logo, and brand guidelines. State league women’s programs similarly have defined branding. Community women’s teams may use club-wide branding or have a distinct sub-brand for the women’s program.

Whatever the branding context, the locker room should reflect it fully. There is sometimes a tendency with women’s programs to design a “generic” change room — plain lockers, minimal branding — under the assumption that the women’s program does not warrant the same branding investment as the men’s program. This is precisely the wrong approach.

Lockers World matches locker finishes to exact Pantone and RAL specifications. If your AFLW club’s primary colour is a specific shade of navy, that is the colour of the lockers. If your state league women’s program uses a precise burgundy, that is what is manufactured. Club logos are integrated into the finish — not applied as decals that peel over seasons of use.

A fully branded AFLW change room — in the club’s exact colours, with the club logo properly displayed — sends a clear message: this is a serious program, and the players in it are valued members of the club. That message matters for player retention, recruitment, and the culture of the program.

Player Nameplates: A Particularly Powerful Detail in Women’s Football

Player nameplates — individual name panels above each locker bay — are standard practice in men’s professional sport. They are less common in women’s programs, particularly at community level.

This is an opportunity. Putting a player’s name above her locker is a simple, visible statement: your place at this club is permanent and recognised. For AFLW and state league programs building culture and identity, this detail carries genuine weight.

Young players — particularly junior girls coming into senior women’s programs — notice nameplates. Coaches talk about the moment a young player first sees their name on a locker. It communicates belonging and investment in a way that a generic numbered locker does not.

Lockers World manufactures interchangeable nameplate panels for exactly this purpose. When a squad changes — new signings, players returning from injury, junior graduations — the nameplate panel swaps without altering the locker itself. This is the practical solution for clubs where squad composition changes annually.

Community Clubs: Serving Both Women’s and Men’s Programs

Most community AFL clubs run both men’s and women’s programs — sometimes multiple grades and age groups across both. Managing locker facilities for multiple teams is a practical challenge that locker design can help address.

A modular timber locker system with interchangeable nameplate panels means a single locker installation can serve both women’s and men’s programs across the week. The lockers themselves are unchanged — the nameplate panels reflect whichever team is using the room for that fixture or training session.

This approach works well for community clubs where dedicated separate facilities for each team are not feasible. The key is that the room itself must be a genuine change room (separate, secure, appropriately equipped) — the shared locker infrastructure is a practical solution, not a substitute for proper separation.

If the club is designing new facilities or undertaking a major renovation, building separate women’s and men’s change rooms from the outset is the right approach. The AFL’s facility recommendations and NCC requirements both point in this direction, and it is increasingly expected by state bodies for clubs participating in women’s competitions.

Recruiting and the Change Room as a Signal

In AFLW and competitive state league women’s football, recruiting is competitive. Young female athletes with the talent to play at representative level are making choices between clubs, and those choices are influenced by more than just the team’s ladder position.

The quality of a club’s facilities is a recruiting signal. A purpose-built AFLW change room with quality lockers in the club’s exact colours, player nameplates, and a professional fit-out communicates that the club has made a genuine investment in its women’s program. A converted storeroom with mismatched lockers communicates the opposite.

Coaches and recruiters from clubs that have invested in their women’s facilities consistently report that the change room comes up in conversations with prospective players and their parents. It is one visible, tangible indicator of the club’s overall commitment to the program.

Tier Recommendations for AFLW Programs

Semi Pro ($469/locker): Suited to community women’s and girls’ programs where budget is the primary constraint. Full timber construction, custom colours, and all standard features. The entry point for clubs building their first dedicated women’s change room.

Varsity ($549/locker): The most popular tier for established community women’s programs and state league women’s teams. The right balance of specification and cost for a long-term facility investment.

Pro ($649/locker): Chosen by top-level state league programs, state representative squads, and community clubs making a premium investment in their women’s change room as a signature facility.

Stadium ($697/locker): Appropriate for national AFLW clubs and elite programs where the change room is a flagship facility. Highest specification fittings and the most extensive customisation options.

For most established community AFL clubs adding or upgrading a dedicated women’s change room, the Varsity tier provides everything needed for a professional, properly branded facility that will serve the program for 20-plus years.

Getting Started

Designing an AFLW locker room starts with a conversation about your facility, your squad size, and your program’s ambitions. Lockers World works with AFL clubs across Australia — from community programs adding their first women’s change room to state league clubs upgrading existing facilities — to design and supply custom timber locker rooms that meet the full range of requirements.

We are familiar with AFL Women’s Football Facility Recommendations and can design installations that meet or exceed those standards. We can work from existing floor plans, help with space planning for new installations, and provide detailed specifications and quotes for any tier of the range.

Related Reading

• AFL Lockers: Custom Locker Rooms for Australian Rules Football
• Women’s Sport Locker Rooms Australia
• Locker Rooms That Win Recruits
• 10 Locker Room Design Mistakes Australian Clubs Make