The review of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031 is finished, and there have been some changes to the guiding policy framework.
The review was based on feedback from people with disability and the wider community, with the government seeking feedback on what needed to change.
The updated strategy is available in Easy Read, Auslan and languages other than English, and has several supporting documents, including:
- three new targeted action plans, covering 2025-27
- a revised Data Improvement Plan
- the Guide to Applying Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031.
Targeted action plans
The three new targeted action plans cover community attitudes, inclusive homes and communities, and safety, rights and justice. All three have been informed by feedback on the strategy and the Disability Royal Commission.
The community attitudes plan aims to increase the number of people with disability in leadership roles within government, and address attitudes towards employees with disability in the workplace.
The inclusive homes and communities plan focuses on accessibility in the built and natural environment and in transport. It suggests tying accessibility standards with public funding of large-scale community events, incorporating universal design in new and upgraded public spaces, and increasing the availability and supply of accessible and adaptive housing.
The safety, rights and justice plan seeks to address feedback from the disability community about how the criminal justice system treats them. It suggests standardising processes and policies for screening, assessing, and identifying disability when people are brought into custody, teaching frontline workers how to better respond to people with disability in the justice system, and adopting culturally competent, trauma-informed approaches.
Each plan also includes state and territory-specific actions.