Inclusion (disability) advisory panel 2022 meetings

A presentation showed the City of Sydney’s plans to celebrate International Day of People with Disability on 3 December with a series of events and programs. Panel members were invited to participate in a short ‘You Can’t Ask That’ style video that will be shared online to help promote events and improve attitudes towards people with disability. The panel’s feedback and advice included questions that could be asked to ensure the video reflected the social model of disability and is balanced between highlighting barriers faced by people with disability and what people can do to address those.

The panel was given an overview of our economic strategy discussion paper  and its strategic directions. The panel provided the following feedback and advice:

• The City of Sydney can play a role in addressing current labour shortages by building capacity of local businesses to employ people with disability, for example by holding a forum. People with disability make up 20% of the population and experience far lower rates of employment due to negative attitudes and systemic barriers in recruitment.
• Panel members strongly agreed that lack of affordable housing was one of the major risk factors in preventing economic resilience into the future and noted this is already a significant issue exacerbating inequality, especially for people with disability.
• The City of Sydney should prioritise actions in the areas it can control that will remove barriers to the economic participation of people with disability. This includes reviewing planning controls to increase accessible housing so people with disability can live close to work opportunities, and work with businesses to ensure customers with disability can spend their money in the city.

The panel welcomed Nidhi Shekaran as the newly elected chair for the next 12 months. Former chair, Sabrina Houssami, will act as co-chair to ensure a smooth transition and provide support.

City of Sydney employees provided an overview of our inclusive and accessible public domain policy and guidelines and other related policies. Panel members suggested during the upcoming review of the guidelines, we should explore including information on how to support the sensory needs of people from the neurodivergent community in public spaces and streets, and explore other ways to better manage dockless share bikes, which can create barriers on footpaths.

The panel provided feedback on the display of goods on the footway policy and outdoor dining policy and guidelines, which are open for feedback. Panel members commented that it’s a great outcome to return to best practice with 2m clearance. They also emphasised the importance of effectively enforcing these clearance requirements for safety and accessibility. Further recommendations included:

• Consider ways to manage displays that make noise, as well as people, chairs and tables in outdoor dining areas to avoid spilling over into the clear zone.
• Consider working with businesses to ensure there are enough gaps between chairs and tables, and that they understand how to support and respond to customers’ safety concerns in outdoor dining areas.

The panel provided input and feedback on how the City of Sydney should mark and celebrate the International Day of People with Disability. Held on 3 December each year, it provides an opportunity to meet key objectives of the Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan 2021-2025.

To foster positive community attitudes towards people with disability and mental health conditions through programs and events, the panel suggested the following:

• Schedule events that celebrate people with disability and their contributions.
• Organise awareness-raising programs aimed at improving the ability and confidence of the broader and business communities to support people with disability and mental health conditions.
• Avoid clashing dates with other major events. 
• Leverage social media to broaden community reach.

The panel also provided advice on the draft of an accessible guide for people with disability to actively participate in Council decision making. The development of an accessible guide is another key objective of the Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan 2021-2025. Initial feedback was given in the October 2021 panel meeting. 

This time, the panel was presented with a sample infographic and the draft guide in the form of a webpage, which has taken into consideration advice received from the last meeting. The panel provided further advice on the access support, including adding Auslan interpreting service, a text message option and more pictures to aid visual learning.

At the panel meeting on 27 April, the City welcomed 8 new panel members: namely, Charles Hung, Daniel McDonald, Giancarlo De Vera, Matthew Hall, Mim Smith, Nanushka Tamtam, Paul Nunnari, and Steve Adei.

The panel provided advice on the draft Sustainable Sydney 2030 – 2050: Continuing the Vision and Community Staregic Plan. They asked the City to consider:

• including an employment target for people with disability and advocating for measures that indicate the quality of employment rather than solely measuring the increase in employment numbers
• how the city can embed universal design and person-centred approaches in the strategy that will contribute to more equitable outcomes for all, including people with disability
• exploring opportunities to use temporary infrastructure installed at events in a more permanent way to enable ongoing access for people with disability.

At the panel meeting on 30 March, Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Scully attended on behalf of the Lord Mayor thanked outgoing panel members: Dr Phillippa Carnemolla, Judy Harwood, Julie Millard, Mark Tonga, and Morwenna Collett for their extraordinary work and contribution to the City over the last 6 years.

The Panel members have been instrumental in the development and implementation of the City’s Inclusion (Disabiltiy) Action Plans as well as other key projects and strategies.

Emily Collins from Music NSW presented the findings of their Music Accessibility Pilot Project, a joint project funded through a City of Sydney Knowledge Exchange grant and delivered in partnership with access consultants Morwenna Collett, Judy Harwood and Holly Craig. The project assessed the accessibility and inclusion of live music venues across the City of Sydney area.

• increasing awareness and education in the music industry through disability inclusion and awareness training as well as ongoing user testing and feedback from the disability community
• providing support to music venues to undertake on-site accessibility assessments
• providing access to information, support and resources to assist venues to make improvements
• ensuring funding programs can support access costs.

City staff provided an update on the recruitment of new panel members. The recommended panel members were endorsed by Council at the Council meeting on 21 March 2022 and will begin their term at the next meeting on 27 April.