Inclusion means individuals with a disability have the opportunity to participate in every aspect of life to the fullest extent possible.

Accessibility means having places, spaces, items, information, services or events that are easily approached, reached, entered, exited from, interacted with, understood or otherwise used by a person with disability.

Council is committed to providing accessible and inclusive services, infrastructure and opportunities for all people on the Northern Beaches. The recently adopted Better Together 2040 Social Sustainability Strategy provides the strategic direction for ensuring the community is safe, inclusive and connected for all.

In 2014, to help overcome some of the disadvantage that people living with disability face every day, the NSW Government introduced new legislation that requires all government agencies, including Councils, to produce a four-year Disability Inclusion Action Plan.

The DIAP is our opportunity to demonstrate Council’s commitment to going beyond compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act and begin to break down attitudinal, physical, communication and social barriers in the Northern Beaches community.

Council’s first Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) 2017-2021 had a total of 78 actions across the four focus areas.

Some notable actions include:

• New whole of Staff learning module on disability awareness developed and implemented.
• Introduction of an Access and Inclusion Award to recognise inclusive businesses in the Northern Beaches Local Business Awards.
• Upgrades to a range of parks and facilities including Lionel Watts Reserve, Manly Dam, Narrabeen Lagoon Trail and Beacon Hill Community Centre.
• Council website updated to achieve an AA rating under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and all online forms provided in a range of formats to be more accessible.

Our goal with the DIAP 2022-2026 is to build on progress made with the implementation of the first DIAP 2017 and set priorities and actions to meet the diverse needs of people with a disability in our community.

We want to further embed accessibility and inclusion principles in Council culture and processes.

Yes. While the focus of the project is on people with disability on the Northern Beaches and what is important to them, people with caring responsibilities, service providers, all Northern Beaches residents and visitors are welcome to contribute their views.

Access and inclusion affects everyone over time, as we age, care for a relative or friend, or simply interact with diverse people in the community.

We are very keen to ensure that that the knowledge, skills and experience of service providers delivering services to people with disability in the Northern Beaches informs the Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2022-2026.

For the initial consultation, service providers could support their participants to complete the community survey or could use the consultation material provided to run sessions with their service users.

Workshops/meetings were held after this initial consultation to further seek service provider views on the DIAP and to assist us in developing a clear picture of current service provision for people with disability on the Northern Beaches.

For the public exhibition, we are keen to hear what service providers and their participants think of our plan.