A family which saved thousands for membership passes to Auckland Council pools has been shut out by a lack of facilities for people with disabilities.

Donna Haurua saved up more than $2000 to purchase Auckland Council Leisure Centre and Pools gold memberships for herself and daughter Josie, who has spina bifida.

However, three weeks after receiving the year-long membership passes, Josie, 34, is yet to take a dip.

FELICITY REID/STUFF Wheelchair user Josie Haurua, 34, is unable to use Auckland Council swimming pools, due to a lack of available or working hoists.

Josie needs a hoist to lift her from her wheelchair into the pool.

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After several attempts at different pools, the Hauruas were unable to find a hoist that was poolside or working.

"There is not much you can do when you are in a wheelchair, but to know now you can't even go swimming is pretty bad," Donna Haurua said.

Auckland Council has 21 community pool complexes across the city. Seventeen of the centres are listed as having hoists, three of which are portable hoists, with the remainder located poolside.

At Glenfield Pool, Haurua said she was told twice by staff the complex did not have a hoist.

FELICITY REID/STUFF A portable hoist used for getting people from a wheelchair into Auckland Council's Albany Stadium Pool

At West Wave in Henderson, Haurua was told the hoist had been "broken for months and months".

In a final attempt at the council's newest pool, Albany Stadium Pool, Haurua could not get a mobility car park and was told to park a 7-minute walk away in Hooton Reserve.

"My daughter has a right to enter any pool of her choice and shouldn't have to be limited," the Glenfield resident said.

BEATRICE RANDELL/STUFF Josie Haurua was unable to get into the pool at West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre, due to the pool's hoist being broken.

"I'm sure there are a lot of other kids with disabilities out there who would like to swim, but they have found it too hard, so they don't.

"Any disabled person should have the rights I have when I have a membership and be able to go for a swim. There shouldn't be any obstacles to stop that in 2018."

Prior to purchasing the memberships, Haurua had good experiences at Stanmore Bay and Papakura pools, but said it was too expensive to regularly travel those distances from the North Shore.

FELICITY REID/STUFF Staff at Glenfield Pool and Leisure Centre said the centre has no hoist, but Auckland Council said they do.

"To me, it is like going back to when Josie first born and you would go up to the mall and everyone would stare at you. That has dissipated in the last 10 years, only just.

"It is like that now when I walk in with Josie to the pools, because there are no disabled people using the pools. Now I know why."

Auckland Council head of active recreation Rob McGee said he was disappointed to hear about the Hauruas' experience.

Felicity Reid An Auckland Council Pools and Leisure Centres membership pass that is not much use for people in a wheelchair wanting to access the pool.

McGee acknowledged hoists had been out of action at both West Wave and Otara in the past couple of months, but said Glenfield Pool was accessible by hoist, and Albany had functioning hoists, and ramps and water wheelchairs available.

"We will be looking into the issues raised and how we tell the public if we are experiencing problems with equipment like hoists," McGee said.

"We encourage customers to check our website or contact a facility before visiting to ensure there are no issues with equipment or access. That also allows our staff time to set up in advance, to ensure a customer's experience is positive."

However, Haurua said she had hoped having memberships would help with the spontaneity of a swim.

"You shouldn't have to book in your swim and say I'm coming can you please bring the hoist out.

"All we want to do is to be able to wake up one day and say 'do you want to go to the pools?' and for it not to be an issue."

The council provides lifeguards with training on hoist set-up and use, McGee said, and there should always be someone on-site able to assist.

McGee said carers of people with disabilities should not be charged to enter a pool if it was clear they were the carer, although some could be charged $1 as a supervising adult.

"I don't think a discount would fix it, that is not where I am going with that. It is just the principle of it is if it is a membership for me or for her. You should be able to access the pool safely," Haurua said.

"If someone can get changed and leave the pool and use the blow dryer and everything else that is there, then so should everybody. It is an inclusion thing."