Wheelchair access to the stage will automatically be provided when anyone books the auditorium for a function at Forum North.
A Whangarei District Council spokeswoman said that is the new policy since two students in wheelchairs who performed at last month's Stage Challenge and J Rock had to be lifted on and off the stage.
The council refuted claims by the Stage Challenge organisers that a ramp could not be installed because it would block the exit and limit access for others.
The spokeswoman said the council was reluctant to get into a ''he said, she said'' argument. Given notice, the stage could be put together into any code-compliant configuration.
Previously, disability access to the stage was provided only when requested by the organisation booking the facility.
From now, it would be included in the stage-building process at all times.
For the Stage Challenge, a ramp was requested only on the day of setting up for the event when it was too late to change the stage, the council said.
Had the request come in earlier there would have been no problem installing the ramp.
Stage Challenge Foundation spokeswoman Helen Sjoquist said the organisers were told a ramp installed on the day would be too steep to fit into the available space.
"I can confirm that it is the standard practice of the foundation to provide disabled access to the stage in every location where access is possible," Ms Sjoquist said.
"We ask schools in advance if there are any special requirements and/or students requiring such access and cater to any request that is made known to us."
She said the organisation knew a Whangarei Boys' High School student needed access to the stage but the school's liaison teacher had agreed the boy and his wheelchair could be lifted on and off the stage instead.
They were not told in advance a Tauraroa Area School student also needed wheelchair access for student Max Thompson-Bailey.
Max's mother, Lisa Thompson-Bailey, complained to the council, saying she believed it had breached its own disability- inclusive policies.
She said volunteers and other workers at Forum North were ''upset and embarrassed'' there was no stage accessibility for the wheelchairs on the day.