Goodlife now requires app to access gyms

Goodlife Health Clubs, an Australian gym chain operated as a franchise of Fitness & Lifestyle Group, has transitioned its 24/7 gym access from radio-frequency (RF) access cards to digital access through the Goodlife App. Members must install the app on a compatible smartphone to enter gyms, and previously issued access cards no longer operate the doors.^[1]

Goodlife's digital access feature works through a card held in the Goodlife App, which stays locked until the phone is near a door reader and can then be tapped to unlock it.^[2] Before the transition, members used RF access cards issued with their memberships.

The change was announced in mid-2024 but was only rolled out at scale in July 2025, by which point it applied across Goodlife's 81 gyms.^[3] The published terms and conditions do not state that use of the Goodlife App is required to access the gyms.^[4]

Goodlife has presented the transition as a convenience improvement, stating that the change means "no more access cards" and that members can scan into the gym using the app instead of carrying a physical card.^[5][6]

App Store reviews of the Goodlife Health Clubs app describe the digital access feature as unreliable. Reviewers report the digital check-in failing after app updates, needing to delete and reinstall the app to regain gym access, being logged out of the app at the door, and losing access entirely after the app registered a wrong date of birth.^[7] One reviewer described the removal of physical cards as a "poorly implemented mess that seldom works", and another wrote that the app disables access and that dealing with support to enter a gym they pay for is "incredibly frustrating".^[7] Another reviewer reported having to use the gym only during staffed hours because an incorrect date of birth in the app blocked digital access.^[7]