Disability

We work with councils to promote access and inclusion in local communities to ensure people with a disability have the same opportunities as other members of the community.

“Nothing about us without us” is a key tenet of the disability community. This reinforces the need to develop and implement policies and programs in collaboration with people with a disability. The majority of councils have disability advisory committees or networks which are consulted on key council decisions and provide feedback on council operations and policies.

Current priorities

The MAV is working to assist councils to create more inclusive communities for people with disability. We developed the Creating a more inclusive community for people with a disability framework (Word - 191KB) to assist councils in doing this through addressing ways in which barriers to participation and access can be reduced.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a most significant social policy reform for people with disabilities and their communities and will change the landscape of the disability care and support sector and the wider community. We are working closely with councils to support them throughout and beyond the transition period.

Additional priorities include working with councils to remove barriers to discrimination for people with disability and ensure adequate service provision through:

National Disability Insurance Scheme
Accessible housing options
Increasing employment and civic participation.

Submissions and briefs

We develop and form a collective local government sector view on a range of disability matters. These include:

To access other disability-related submissions, visit the MAV submissions page.

Committees and reference groups

The Victorian Local Government Disability Planners Network is convened at the MAV every six weeks and is a key network for liaising and support with local government officers developing community inclusion. We host the distribution list for this network.

Resources

Framework for a more inclusive community

The MAV developed the Creating a more inclusive community for people with a disability framework (Word - 191KB) to assist councils create more inclusive communities for people with a disability by addressing ways in which barriers to participation and access can be reduced.
The background report (Word - 550KB) outlines the policy context and the work of councils.

ALGA disability inclusion guide for councils

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has released Disability Inclusion Planning – A Guide for Local Government (PDF - 1.47MB) which provides information and tools to help councils update, develop and implement inclusive policies and practices to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to services and facilities in their municipalities.

Accessible Housing

Various councils and organisations have developed projects or advocacy positions to increase understanding of the current barriers to accessible housing. These include:

Australian Network on Universal Housing Design – has developed advocacy positions calling for national regulation to increase accessibility in housing
Livable Housing Australia – has developed specific guidelines and promote voluntary take up of livable design features in new homes
Banyule City Council’s livable housing guidelines – specific guidelines and processes to implement livable housing in new developments

Increasing employment and civic participation

The report Local government building inclusive communities (Word - 174KB) informs councils of developments in disability policy and legislation and has accompanying guides
Creating employment opportunities for people with disability (Word - 307KB)
Increasing civic participation and improving consultation with people with disability (Word - 295KB)

National survey and resource for local government

The National Disability Insurance Agency commissioned the University of Technology Sydney to develop a national survey and resource for local government on how local government can support the social and economic participation of people with disability. The research and resource are available on Institute for Public Policy and Governance website.

Legislative responsibilities

Victorian Disability Act 2006. Under Section 38 of the Act councils are required to prepare Disability Action Plans that identifies actions to remove barriers for people with a disability, is designed to promote inclusion and participation of persons with a disability, and change attitudes and practices which discriminate against persons with a disability. If a council does not address these matters in its disability action plan, it is required to address them in its Council Plan.
Equal Opportunity Act 2010
Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Government disability strategies

Past events

You can access disability-related presentations from past events on our Members Only past event presentations page.

Engage With Us

Please email: inquiries@mav.asn.au

Building inclusive communities

The Building Inclusive Communities Program works to develop new ways of including people with a disability in the life of their communities.

National Disability Insurance Scheme

The NDIS is the new way of providing support for people with disability, their families and carers, built on insurance principles.