Decision details

The original motion was moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Ellsmore.

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         the Australian Federal Government is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Optional Protocol in 2008 and 2009;

(ii)        the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is a signatory to Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031, and reports annually on local government progress towards the goals;

(iii)       the City of Sydney has established an Inclusion (Disability) Advisory Panel, with members appointed by Council, to provide strategic, expert and impartial advice to the City on the development, implementation, monitoring and review of the City’s policies, strategies and plans to advance the inclusion of people with a disability;

(iv)       specifically, the Terms of Reference of the Panel note that the Panel uses the following strategies to achieve its objective:

(a)        provide input to policy development and review, planning and advice to Council across all areas relevant to people with disability;

(b)        provide input to enhance inclusion and accessibility of the City’s infrastructure, facilities, events, services, programs, systems and information for people with disability; 

(c)        advise the City on submissions the City may make relating to State and Federal Government policy and legislation; and

(d)        provide advice to Council on how to identify issues that are relevant to people with disability;

(v)        the City of Sydney Disability Action Plan 2021-2025 outlines four key directions to build a safer, more inclusive and accessible City:

(a)        Direction 1: develop positive community attitudes and behaviours towards people with disability;

(b)        Direction 2: create more liveable communities for people with disability;

(c)        Direction 3: achieve a higher rate of meaningful employment participation by people with disability; and

(d)        Direction 4: provide more equitable access to mainstream services for people with disability;

 

 

(vi)       as required by the NSW Disability Inclusion Act 2014, all Councils are required to review and update their Disability Action Plan every four years in consultation with people with disability, which will include consultation with groups such as First People’s Disability Network, People with Disability Australia, Down Syndrome NSW and other disability advocacy organisations in NSW;

(vii)      City staff advise that whilst work to update the Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan 2021-25 will begin in 2024 and will include consideration of the associated actions in light of the Disability Royal Commission, a new Action Plan will not be in place until June 2025;

(viii)    should any changes to the City’s work be required as a result of the Royal Commission Recommendations, this will be reflected sooner in the internal facing action plan and reported to Council through quarterly operational plan reporting, and the annual Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan reporting process;

(ix)       the Australian Disability Royal Commission (the Commission) was established in April 2019 in response to community concern about widespread reports of violence against, and the neglect, abuse, and exploitation of, people with disability;

(x)        the Commission delivered its final report to the Australian Government on 29 September 2023. This report included 222 recommendations on how to improve laws, policies, structures and practices that support people with disability; and

(xi)       the Commission explicitly didn’t consider a range of domains, including transport and mental health, which still need to be addressed;

(B)       as a priority, the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         prioritise the use of authentic videos, images, articles etc. of people with disability and the everyday stories of people with disability in City publications, digital platforms, and media channels;

(ii)        review relevant policies to ensure City services don’t procure from, create, fund or participate, or award new grants for, organisations that participate in segregated services or employment, or engage in restrictive practices;

(iii)       repair the lift at Alexandria Town Hall; and

(iv)       report back to Council via CEO Update;

 

 

(C)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to consider as part of the development of the next Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan, the following suggestions from the Panel listed below about how the recommendations of the Royal Commission might be reflected in the new plan:

(i)         Direction 1, ‘what will we do next’, “Continue to provide information and communication plans that promote the City’s accessible features. This will allow for increased autonomy and access”;

(ii)        Direction 2, ‘What will we do next’, “Group Homes will be phased out within 15 years. Housing and Transition assistance will be provided for those who are currently residing in group homes”;

(iii)       Direction 2, ‘what will we do next’; “No special schools will be built in the City of Sydney from 2025. This will phase out segregated education, increasing opportunities for success for children and students with a disability”;

(iv)       Direction 3, ‘what will we do next; “Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) will develop into integrated workplaces by 2034, reducing below minimum wage workers and ending employment segregation”;

(v)        Direction 3, ‘what will we do next; “The Disability Employment Services (DES) program will be used to assist in the distribution of employees for inclusive employment across a range of companies in the City of Sydney”;

(vi)       Direction 4, ‘what will we do next’; “The City of Sydney in conjunction with the Royal Commission and the City’s Disability Advisory Panel will continue to outline the requirements for disability services and support for the delivery and design of products and services that the City offers”; and

(vii)      Direction 4, ‘what will we do next’; “Develop a complaint mechanism through the City of Sydney’s website that is specifically for abuse, violence and neglect against people with disabilities rather than the City of Sydney’s general complaint link”;

(D)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to support the Inclusion (Disability) Advisory Panel meeting with the Housing for All Working Group and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel to discuss and make further recommendations for how the City of Sydney might implement the relevant recommendations made by the Commission and report back to Council via CEO Update;  

(E)       in accordance with the Terms of Reference, and on the basis of an agenda item discussing the findings of the Commission, the Chief Executive Officer be requested to consider, as part of the development of the next Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan, the following suggestions from the City’s Inclusion (Disability) Advisory Panel:

 

 

(i)         provide research, with a focus on economic evidence, on the benefits to all City of Sydney residents and businesses from increased inclusion of people with a disability;

(ii)        note that the City’s review of Planning Proposal and Draft Development Control Plan – Policy and Housekeeping Amendments 2023, includes a commitment to at least 15 per cent of dwellings classified as Platinum level in the Liveable Housing Design Guidelines (measured via number of units, ensuring a mix across dwelling types to ensure a variable unit mix);

(iii)       investigate what role the City’s planning controls could have in preventing new segregated group housing;

(iv)       continue to ensure the City's communications are accessible for people with disability, including cognitive disability, noting that:

(a)        as part of the fourth iteration of the City of Sydney’s Inclusion (Disability) Action Plan 2017-2021, the City adopted the international standards “Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services” - to guide the City’s Information and communications technology procurement practice’; and

(b)        in line with the City’s Digital and Print Accessibility Policy; all new and redesigned web content, both for public and internal websites and services, will be assessed against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. Where web content does not meet these guidelines due to vendor or system constraints, the City will ensure alternative access to content;

(v)        ensure the City’s learning and development programs increase awareness of opportunities to include people with disability and, in particular, the intersectionality of people with disability;;

(vi)       continue to review and reform relevant City processes and procedures to increase the proportion of employees with disability through opportunities and pathways for people with disability in public sector employment and procurement;

(vii)      note that the City has recently reviewed the Inclusive and Accessible Events Guidelines, which is part of the City’s events approval processes to ensure increased disability inclusion;

(viii)    consider, in particular, what more the City can do to support people with a severe disability and people with intersectional identities;

(ix)       note that the City’s Legible Sydney Wayfinding Strategy includes a range of signage and wayfinding for people with disabilities in the public domain, to help with navigating our city, including city landmarks, public transport options and new wayfinding signage, including more than 2,000 tactile and braille street signs installed in 2016;

(x)        advocate for more effective mechanisms for effective enforcement of relevant disability legislation and standards; and

(xi)       review all other Royal Commission findings and report back to Council via the CEO Update on reforms undertaken; and

(F)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Federal Minster for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the NSW Minister for Disability Inclusion to advocate for the Australian and NSW Governments to adopt the recommendations of the Royal Commission, including:

(i)         enshrining in full the rights outlined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through legislation, such as the proposed Disability Rights Act;

(ii)        a national complaints mechanism to be co-designed by people with disability;

(iii)       a new National Disability Agreement; and

(iv)       a new Federal Department of Disability Equality and Inclusion.

Amended motion carried unanimously.

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