Anonymous

Which of the following statements best describes you?
I’m a disability advocate and/or work for a disability peak association or service provider

Question 1:
During the first stage of consultations we heard that the vision and the six outcome areas under the current Strategy are still the right ones. Do you have any comments on the vision and outcome areas being proposed for the new Strategy?

Education for employers on how to support staff with disability in the workplace appears essential to prevent/ reduce discrimination.

The Disability Standards for Education appear to not be well understood at tertiary education level in terms of supporting reasonable adjustments for students, or considering what are the inherent requirements for participation in a field of study

Question 2:
What do you think about the guiding principles proposed here?

(Designing universally) – While Australia’s building codes and legislation help to define the minimum physical accessibility requirements of buildings, currently they do not consider the impact of neurodiversity on individuals and how they actually experience participation in their home, educational or work environments. The Australian Standards need review and creation of ‘Universal Design (Built Form) Guidelines” for builders/ architects etc would be very beneficial

Question 3:
What is your view on the proposal for the new Strategy to have a stronger emphasis on improving community attitudes across all outcome areas?

Needs to start at primary school level around inclusion and participation of people with disability in all aspects of community life. This means educating the educators during undergrad studies and in professional development opportunities. More community awareness campaigns to highlight how to be inclusive in approach. Employer education campaigns – broader roll out of promotional materials, benefts of employing people with disability etc

Question 4:
How do you think that clearly outlining what each government is responsible for could make it easier for people with disability to access the supports and services they need?

Clarification of who’s responsible for what will reduce confusion and being shuttles between services looking for answers

Question 5:
How do you think the Strategy should represent the role that the non-government sector plays in improving outcomes for people with disability?

Education and awareness campaigns as mentioned in previous response would be great to ‘sell’ benefit of more inclusive practices around employment participation on business bottom line, org culture etc

Question 6:
What kind of information on the Strategy’s progress should governments make available to the public and how often should this information be made available?

Targets are redundant unless accountability is upheld/ penalised for non compliance.
Reporting annually on education and employment participation.

Number of people <45 living in aged care accommodation due to lack of supported alternatives for care

New construction – number of homes meeting accessibility standards/ Liveable Homes recommendations annually

Question 7:
What do you think of the proposal to have Targeted Action Plans that focus on making improvements in specific areas within a defined period of time (for example within one, two or three years)?

Good concept. Employment HAS to be one of the first focuses for a TAP due to number of unemployed graduates being pumped out of universities each year who achieve their qualifications but statistically remain unemployed for far longer than their peers, or continue their studies in an effort to become ‘more employable’ to no avail

Question 8:
How could the proposed Engagement Plan ensure people with disability, and the disability community, are involved in the delivery and monitoring of the next Strategy?

Similar to approach taken during this consultation period – variety of options for engagement by people with disability being offered is helpful.