Page 4031 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 December 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Amongst the many things CHS have heard is the need to get better at communicating with people with disability in supporting their staff to be more disability confident, providing consistent physical access to their services, and to engage more in planning with people with disability. The draft of the disability action and inclusion plan will shortly be released on the YourSay platform, with a view to finalising and releasing the plan in the first quarter of 2022.
The ACT government is also currently in the process of developing an overarching disability health strategy in accordance with the parliamentary and governing agreement for the Tenth Legislative Assembly. It will provide a responsive and confident health system, supporting people with disability to have better health outcomes and person-centred support. This work has commenced and will be developed, and people will be consulted over the coming year, with an expected launch in 2023. To our community I say: get involved and have your say. Support our services to become more responsive and confident so that government can meet your needs as best we can.
Whilst the focus on health has been at the top of our minds over the last year, there has been so much more happening in our community. Tomorrow I will be with Canberra Community Law as they launch their social scripts, which will improve access to legal assistance and enhance people’s capacity to provide legal instruction. The social scripts provide person-centred narratives to introduce new events and interactions and to outline what to expect using short, descriptive sentences and images. These are accessible tools, helping to reduce uncertainty and anxiety in a legal setting or in any other setting where clear communication and understanding are required.
This work is supported through the disability justice strategy and is part of a whole suite of work taking place across justice agencies to provide equity of access to justice and the justice system. The progress being made is constant, and the annual report on the strategy will shortly be available for people to see what has been happening over the last 12 months.
The work of the disability justice strategy and the disability health strategy supports the enactment of the ACT’s commitment to the new Australia’s Disability Strategy, launched this week by the commonwealth government and agreed to unilaterally by all jurisdictions across the country. The vision is to build a society in which people with disability can participate as equal members, with equal opportunities to fulfil their potential.
Planning on our new whole-of-government commitment to people with disability has commenced, as have our conversations, to listen to and understand what steps government needs to take in Canberra to be fair, welcoming and inclusive. Government will listen, learn and understand what you need us to do, we will make our actions real and tangible and we will be responsive and accountable. The 10-year plan will be developed and take all learnings across different parts of government and community and build towards the direction you want to make a difference in your lives.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video