It is "embarrassing" that after years of lobbying, Ballarat station still has no easy disability access between platforms, according to Grampians DisAbility Advocacy's Deborah Verdon.

"I know there's a lot of competing interests for government dollars, but really, when you think of the number of people that this delay is affecting every single day of the week, it just seems a really unfair decision," she said.

READ MORE: Gates fix won't solve the rest of the Ballarat train station's problems | ANALYSIS

"Last year's budget was in October, we thought that was a COVID budget so we were probably not going to get a look in there, but we were a little bit hopeful about this May budget, so it it's very frustrating and disappointing - frustrating because everybody seems to agree the issue exists, there's no argument about that."

Both platforms at the station are now operating, and the only way to get from one to the other - or to get from the new multi-level car park on the northern side, and eventually the $22 million bus interchange, to the southern platform - is to either use the wooden stairs or leave the station entirely and cross at the Lydiard Street level crossing.

While the crossing is currently closed to traffic, pedestrians can still cross - but the gates can be closed for much longer than expected, which can leave people stranded as trains and buses arrive and depart.

FROM 2019: Why is there still no disability access at the train station?

Every other station on the Ballarat line, from Melbourne to Wendouree, now has full accessibility between platforms, including at Ballan station, where a new pair of lifts and an overpass was installed near the historic station building.

Train station infrastructure must be Disabilty Discrimination Act compliant by the end of 2022, but with no money committed, and only small upgrades provided so far, it's unlikely the state government will meet this target.

Ms Verdon said she understood the heritage significance of the building, but the station needed a rejuvenation.

"I can only assume (the lack of funding) is because of the particular challenges presented by a heritage building, but these things are not insurmountable - everyone who has travelled through Europe reports the most wonderful heritage buildings at the same time as the most amazing access," she said.

"It's getting to the point where it's become a very frustrating experience all around."

GDA's Ballarat advocate Phil Cutts said the situation was "unfair and discriminatory".

"It's a disgrace that it's not easily accessible between platform one and two," he said.

"That the Ballarat station is not accessible is something that's been known about for a long time - this isn't just something that's suddenly come up."

GDA has already taken authorities to VCAT to demand upgrades, but the situation was not fully resolved.

"Since the VCAT hearing, the upgrades have been mainly cosmetic - the car parks outside have been improved, there are more disability car parks out the front," Ms Verdon explained.

"There's a button on the door of the accessible toilet, but there was supposed to be a lighting review - one of the applicants to VCAT was a legally blind person, and she explained the lighting in here is terrible for people with a vision impairment.

"There's no tactile markings in here to show people where to go to get tickets - how are you to know if you're vision impaired? It's not just about the physical access, it's sensory access as well."

Save Our Station president Gerald Jenzen said a complete overhaul was needed at the main station building.

"We've been advocating for some considerable time with the local politicians to spend money on the station for disability, and for a proper conservation management plan," he said.

"The longer it goes on, the more it's going to cost the government - the station is in poor condition and needs a lot of money spent on it, it needs to be done in a proper coordinated way.

"We've been advocating for an underpass, not an overpass at the eastern end, (but) it's not a simple job, these things don't happen overnight and shouldn't happen in isolation."

State Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll had no answers when asked about the lack of funding on Friday.

"I continue to work with the local member and we continue to discuss how a part of the broad suite of improvements we're making at Ballarat station, a beautiful, historic station, is also disability compliant and disability accessible," he said.

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"This is an ongoing issue we're continuing to discuss, it does require significant resources, and we do need to make sure we can do the investment that's required.

"We also have to make sure we have the planning right as well, we know how important planning is around a historic station that can serve the local community.

"There's a lot of advocacy for a lift to be installed at Ballarat station that I'm conscious of and aware of, and we continue to progress and work through these matters as we continue to focus on making the Ballarat area, the Ballarat station, fixing Lydiard Street, capitalising on the $500m Ballarat Line Upgrade, the best it can be."

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