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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