Released by the ACT Government

The ACT Government is committed to implementing the National Disability Strategy 2010-
2020 (NDS) to improve outcomes for people with disability in the areas of economic security, personal and community support, learning and skills, health and wellbeing, accessible communities and rights protection, justice and legislation.
An ACT Disability Inclusion Statement 2015-2017 (Statement) will be developed to build upon the achievements delivered under Future Directions: Towards Challenge 2014 and continue the ACT Government’s record on delivering the NDS policy outcomes.
This paper proposes a vision, principles, priority areas and an implementation approach to focus effort through the Statement until December 2017. Questions for consideration are at the end of this paper. You are invited to provide a response to the questions raised by close of business Friday 15 May 2015.
Why we need a Statement
Canberra is a city of brilliant possibilities, yet many people with disability do not equally enjoy its benefits. Research, like the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Disability Care and Support , National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 Evidence Base , and SHUT OUT: The
Experience of People with Disabilities and their Families in Australia , demonstrates that as a population group, people with disability are less likely to be employed, are more likely to be living in poverty, have lower income levels and less access to affordable housing options, are more likely to experience homelessness, are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime and are less likely to attain year 12 qualifications.
People with disability make valuable contributions to the economic and social life of
Canberra. People with disability, despite environmental and attitudinal barriers, are contributing economically to Canberra by working in all types of industry. People with disability, their family and friends have large spending power and buy products and use services that are welcoming and accessible. Canberra has also has a rich history of people with disability leading the world as civil right champions, like 2015 Canberra Citizen of the
Year, Sue Salthouse, a strident advocate for women and disability.
To reach their full potential, people with and without disability need welcoming and supportive communities, accessible environments and access to opportunities to participate socially and economically. The NDS sets out to achieve this by establishing a ten-year shared agenda to promote an inclusive Australian society.
The Statement will guide government, together with business and the community, to consider the needs and rights of people with disability. It will provide the framework to change attitudes and generate action to achieve an inclusive and equitable Canberra community.

The Statement builds on the disability reform commenced by the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIS has moved disability onto centre stage and there is a unique opportunity to achieve the vision of inclusion as individuals achieve choice and control over the supports they receive. However the NDIS isn’t the entire picture; it doesn’t complete disability reform, rather it begins our journey to mobilise the community. An inclusive Canberra is needed to deliver on the promise and the investments made by the entire community.
Proposed vision
Imagine living in a community where all people, including people with disability, feel welcome, can access all aspects of community life and reach their full potential. Imagine if every person understood and valued the contributions that people with disability make and recognised that they had a part to play in the creation of welcoming and accessible communities. With this and the shared agenda of the NDS in mind, the following vision is proposed for the ACT Disability Inclusion Statement:
Proposed principles
The following principles are proposed to describe the beliefs, concepts and attitudes driving the Statement:
 Everyone has the opportunity to participate in our great Canberra community.
 Everyone has a voice and a right to be heard.

With the right support, everyone can participate economically and socially as full citizens in the community.

Everyone benefits when the environments in which we work, live and play are inclusive.
 People with disability make valuable contributions that strengthen and promote economic, social and cultural life in our community.

Enabling people with disability to achieve their full potential will give Canberra a competitive edge and promote our status as the world’s most livable city.
 Everyone has a role in making a Canberra community where people with disability have equal rights and aspire to a better future.

Proposed priority areas until December 2017
The priorities reflect the six outcome areas of the NDS, which are underpinned by the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and feedback raised during consultation on the Strategy. It is proposed that the priority areas in the
Statement are:
2015-16
 More jobs and opportunities to grow and develop
 Increased access to affordable and accessible housing
 Greater choice and control through the
National Disability Insurance Scheme
(NDIS)



2016-17
Access to justice on an equal basis
Communities that are accessible and behave in welcoming ways
Experience better health outcomes
Focus on employment and housing
The NDS Evidence Base reveals that people with disability are under-represented in the labour force and face significant barriers to obtaining a job. Further, it shows that people with disability have markedly lower labour force participation rates and higher unemployment rates than people without disability.
Action is needed now to increase job opportunities for people with disability. A job is essential to an individual’s economic security and is important to achieving social inclusion. A job contributes to a person’s physical and mental health, personal wellbeing and sense of identity. Income from employment increases financial independence and raises living standards. By acquiring new skills and knowledge throughout their lives, individuals have the capacity to contribute to Canberra’s prosperity and enable it to continue to be a place of great opportunity.
The NDS Evidence Base explains that the absence of affordable, secure and appropriate housing can result in homelessness, poor health and lower employment and education participation, all of which can lead to social exclusion. Statistics from the NDS Evidence Base show that people with disability lack affordable housing options and that action is required. As the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare explains, affordable, secure and appropriate housing is essential for good health, education and employment outcomes, with the achievement of these outcomes contributing to people’s ability to participate actively in their communities.

Proposed implementation approach
A social movement will be created to enable people with and without disability, community organisations, industry and government to act together to achieve change. Evidence-based, community designed social campaigns with a focus on each priority area will be developed to change negative attitudes through practical actions.
Why social campaigns?
A campaign is an organised course of action to achieve a goal. Social campaigns are intensive communication activities addressed to a specific target group. The goal is to increase public knowledge, or change the way of thinking, attitude or behaviour associated with a particular social issue. Tools developed within the campaign enable people to be change agents and lead a social movement.
Social campaigns are widely used to change attitudes and behaviour in many fields including public health , intimate partner violence , road safety , , combating racism , reducing mental health stigma , reducing disability hate crime and pro-environment behaviour such as littering . Innovative personal campaign platforms such as State of Ambition have been used to successfully connect people experiencing long term unemployment to work, growth and development opportunities.
Campaigns have also been successfully used to change negative attitudes about disability and influence communities, business and Governments to take action. Current disability related campaigns include the Aboriginal Disability Justice Campaign , the Shut In Campaign , the Campaign for Disability Employment (US), the Disability Confident Campaign (UK) and the Time to Change Campaign (UK ).
The social campaigns for the ACT Disability Inclusion Statement will:
 focus on changing attitudes and behaviour towards people with disability
 comprise intensive communication activities, events, media, community education and information over a year for each campaign area
 give Canberrans the tools to lead and make change for a more inclusive Canberra through a web-based platform and real life, non digital action
 through the web-based platform enable people to: o easily discover practical action they can take in their lives, workplaces, schools and communities o mobilise support for community change campaigns (like Change.org
and Take Part ) o create personal ambition campaigns (like State of Ambition ) to mobilise community support that supports individual people with disability to achieve full potential

Questions for consultation
1.
What do you think of the proposed vision for the ACT Disability Inclusion Statement
2015-17 (Statement)? Do you have suggested changes?
2.
What do you think of the proposed principles? Do you have suggested changes?
3.
What do you think of the proposed priority areas?
4.
What do you think of the proposal to create a social movement to encourage people with and without disability, community organisations, industry and Government to act together to change negative attitudes and take action?
5.
What do you think of the proposed implementation approach through social campaigns?
Do you have any suggested changes or evidence based alternatives?
6.
Central to the Statement is the question of how to practically enable people with disability to reach full potential. Thinking about your own life, family, workplace and community, what are some practical things that have enabled you and others to reach full potential?
You can submit your response electronically through:
Time to Talk: www.timetotalk.act.gov.au
or send it to info@nican.com.au
;
PO Box 110, Mitchell, ACT 2911. Phone: 1800 806 769