The strategy aims to support the one in five Canberrans living with a disability to participate fully and equally in all aspects of community life.
The ACT Government has released the 10-year ACT Disability Strategy 2024-2033 and First Action Plan 2024-2026.
One in five Canberra residents lives with a disability.
The strategy aims to support them to participate fully and equally in all aspects of community life.
The Bill will guide how the ACT Government works to create a more inclusive Canberra by implementing systemic changes to embed disability accommodations in all activities.
Canberrans with disabilities experience significant disadvantage and marginalisation.
On average, people with disabilities are less likely to finish school, attend university or get paid employment and are more likely to experience violence.
The Government has allocated $5.54 million over four years to address the strategy’s priorities.
These initiatives include:
Supporting Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to deliver culturally safe and inclusive services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, setting disability employment targets for the ACT Public Service, working with the community sector to deliver peer support programs to improve the wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ people with disability, creating new disability liaison officer roles within Housing ACT and Access Canberra, and strengthening the ACT Government’s capacity to consistently provide accessible communications and information.
The strategy will be implemented through three action plans spanning 10 years.
The strategy and accompanying action plan will focus on achieving outcomes for each of the 12 wellbeing domains of the ACT Wellbeing Framework.
The principles and actions of the Strategy and First Action Plan were developed through extensive consultation with people with disability, families, carers, community organisations and ACT Government agencies.
Local group Advocacy for Inclusion welcomed the new strategy.
“Particularly welcome are the commitment to introduce a new Housing Disability Liaison Officer position, funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to deliver culturally safe and inclusive services, a commitment to establish a communications hub within Access Canberra staffed with Easy English specialists and Australian Sign Language interpreters, increases to the Inclusion Grant and I-Day Grant, training to upskill domestic family and sexual violence workers, and a structured self-advocacy program for people with intellectual disability,” head of policy Craig Wallace said.
“We also welcome the ACT’s ambitious target of 9 per cent disability employment in the public service and the move to move International Day of Disability celebrations to community control.”
Chair of the Disability Reference Group, Renée Heaton, said the strategy built on the good work already being done.
“The ACT Disability Strategy brings together the important work already being done, while moving us all towards a future paved with practical actions and goals. Canberrans enjoy the benefits of a progressive, modern community and we want this to extend to people with disability. We aim high and work collaboratively, and we hope that this strategy and the action plan that follows will motivate all Canberrans to take action towards inclusion,” she said.
The ACT Disability Strategy and First Action Plan builds on other interconnected strategies, including the ACT Inclusive Education Strategy 2024-2034, the ACT Disability Health Strategy 2024-2033 and the ACT Disability Justice Strategy 2019-2029.
The strategy and action plan can be found at act.gov.au/open/disability-strategy
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