Consultation process, findings and strategies

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) undertook initial consultation with the DPC Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, of which membership includes employees who identify as having disability. Consultation proceeded with all Directors, Executive Directors or appropriate contacts from each division of the department.

A draft was presented for public consultation, with a call for submissions from the public through the YourSAy Disability Access and Inclusion consultation hub from 13 August to 11 September 2020. Throughout this period, this was promoted through YourSAy’s social media channels and newsletters as well as through DPC’s social medial channels.

Concurrently, the draft was presented to all DPC employees for feedback.

Feedback was received from members of the public and employees within the department. Responses varied from overall positive to feedback which reflected the general frustrations of individuals with disability and/or carers and the experiences and barriers faced when generally accessing public services, facilities and events. Feedback also reflected a general distrust in the department following through on commitments. What became evident from the feedback received, was the need to not only provide a stronger focus on all people with disability being able to access services, but to also better inform the public on the accessibility of our venues, services and events.

Additional feedback was provided to the YourSAy team reflecting a desire for all South Australian Public Sector Agencies and councils to consider a broader range of accessible and inclusive methods to consult with members of the public with disability.

Relationship to other policies, strategies, frameworks

The Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) supports and complements:

• DPC Diversity and Inclusion Framework
• DPC Respectful Treatment at Work Policy
• DPC Reasonable Workplace Adjustments Procedure
• Government of South Australia Online Accessibility Policy.

Examples of previous achievements

• In 2017, in collaboration with the Attorney-General’s Department, DPC developed a Disability Awareness and Inclusion online course for public sector employees. This course is currently used by a number of agencies across the South Australian Public Sector
• Establishment of the department’s first Diversity and Inclusion Framework in 2018
• Establishment of the DPC Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee in 2019, including employee members who identify as having disability, as well as carers of people with disability
• Development of the DPC Reasonable Workplace Adjustment procedure
• Development of the DPC Universal Design Procedure
• Development of the Online Accessibility Policy and Toolkit
• Establishment of the department’s third Diversity and Inclusion Framework in 2023, with a focus on individual employee actions and assessing diversity and inclusion maturity progress
• The development and delivery of accessibility programs within the South Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of South Australia, such as Auslan interpreted tours and tours for the visually impaired and programs for people with Autism
• Establishment of the Office for Autism in 2023
• Development and delivery of Autism Awareness training
• Adoption and planned implementation of the Hidden Disabilities Scheme.

Implementation

The DPC DAIP was launched through online communications to all employees, contractors, volunteers and the South Australian community. It is available on the department’s intranet and website in Easy Read and Word formats and can be made available in other accessible formats and languages upon request.

Monitoring and review

The DPC Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee will support the monitoring and implementation of this DAIP. Progress against this DAIP will be reported to the DPC Executive Leadership Team annually by 31 July, and to the Minister for Human Services by 31 October each year.

This interim review, as well as ensuring it remains current, also satisfies the requirement in the Act to undertake a review at least once within its four-year lifecycle.