Disability Service Plan

We work within diverse communities ensuring that information sourced and shared takes into consideration the differing needs of our stakeholders. We recognise the strength and successes of people living with disability and we are committed to fostering an inclusive community where every individual is valued and respected.

Our Disability Service Plan is designed to ensure that people living with disability receive the support they need to participate fully in the cultural, social, and economic life of our community. We strive to work collaboratively with people with disability, ensuring that our services are accessible, responsive, and culturally sensitive. Together, we are building a future that celebrates diversity and empowers every member of our community.

Actions:

1. We consider the needs of people with disability in the development, implementation and evaluation of agency policies, procedures and practices.
2. We promote and provide translation and interpreting services, including Auslan, upon request to ensure accessibility for people with disability. Moreover, we strive to provide captions and transcripts for events whenever possible.
3. We ensure that events and meetings are held in accessible venues, following the Best Practice Guidelines for Event Delivery in Queensland.
4. We partner with the Public Sector Commission Inclusion and Diversity Community of Practice and departmental and external networks, to share information and develop resources to embed disability inclusion.
5. We increase leadership knowledge of pathways for people with disability, including the promoting of services provided by disability employment providers.

We acknowledge that everyone is entitled to engage and flourish in their roles, as we strive to cultivate a workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of our diverse backgrounds, ensuring every employee feels valued and included.

Inclusion is our ethos – individuals with disability are empowered to enter the workplace, contribute, thrive, and achieve their aspirations.

We are committed to advertising all job opportunities to gain diverse applicant pools that promote fair and transparent recruitment practices, sharing narratives of individuals living with disability via our various communication forums and specialised disability awareness training and initiatives.

The department’s People and Culture Committee and Equity and Diversity Network will play a pivotal role in our inclusion efforts, providing insights from our diverse workforce to the Board of Management. These practices have become integral to our policies and operations, and we are dedicated to maintaining these standards and progressing toward our goal of a workforce comprising at least 12% people living with disability.

Moving forward, the department is poised to integrate the following measures to draw in a workforce as diverse as the communities we serve, where employees can enjoy meaningful and satisfying careers.

Actions:

1. We offer a range of blended learning options including mandatory training for new starters to raise disability awareness.
2. We provide reasonable adjustment to meet individual needs and we reinforce and promote the positive intent of the Flex Connect Framework.
3. We provide wellbeing support for employees with disability.
4. We attract diverse applicant pools including people with disability, at all classification levels within the department. To achieve this, diversity employment providers are promoted to widen the reach of recruitment pools beyond the standard recruitment channels.
5. We improve representation of people with disability on the Equity and Diversity departmental and other sector networks, to seek diverse perspectives of employees living with disability in the development and implementation of departmental strategies, initiatives and policies.
6. We seek to identify the reasons why some employees are reluctant to disclose their diversity data.
7. We critically analyse employment data through the Equity and Diversity Audit process and work collaboratively through our networks to reassess and refine our Equity and Diversity Plan to ensure the achievement of strategic objectives and workforce targets.
8. We promote and encourage all staff to participate in and engage with messaging and activities during important awareness events or dates, including Disability Action Week. We pre-plan a calendar of events throughout the year for awareness raising. We connect with peak disability and inclusion bodies to link with existing events and promotion of awareness days and events.

We foster a community environment that embraces diversity and inclusivity within all the communities we serve throughout Queensland. In our engagement with the community, we are committed to addressing the unique needs of each individual. We are dedicated to enhancing our staff’s awareness and acknowledge the challenges faced by people with disability in our communities, ensuring that our work benefits everyone.

Actions:

1. We support national and Queensland communication strategies and activities to promote the Australian Disability Strategy 2021–2031 and/or the Queensland Disability Strategy 2022-27.
2. We promote the Queenslanders with Disability Network co-design principles to inform effective, quality and authentic engagement of people with disability.

We recognise places exist in the physical and online space, and that accessibility in both spaces is vital for inclusion of people with disability to allow for full participation in social, economic, and public life. We are committed to building the department’s role in championing the strengths of people with disability through genuine engagement with people who have lived experience of disability, ensuring that their voices and needs are reflected in the actions taken.

Actions:

1. Our agency collaborates with employees with disability to make workplace adjustments as needed.
2. We review and ensure departmental websites and digital service portals comply with web content accessibility guidelines.