Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Website

Disability Discrimination Act Action Plans : A Guide for Non-Government Organisations

Non-government organisations are known for their commitment to social justice for all people, and to the provision of services which are accessible to all members of the community. This guide will assist an organisation to review and modify its practices so as to ensure that its crucial services are accessible to people with disabilities.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) is a piece of Commonwealth legislation which creates a new context for service provision. The Act requires that people with disabilities be given equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to the full range of social, political and cultural activities. Access for people with disabilities, including access to the goods, services and facilities provided by non-government organisations, can no longer be an after thought. The DDA is not about limited or 'parallel' access, but promotes and protects equality of access - physical, informational and attitudinal.

Action plans have the capacity to produce the systemic change which is required to eliminate disability discrimination, whether it be direct or unintentional and indirect. Through an Action Plan, a non-government organisation may reduce the risks of having complaints made against it under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. An Action Plan will also assist a non-government organisation better to meet its objective of providing high quality service to the whole community, of which people with disabilities constitute over 18%.

Providing a copy of your Action Plan to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission will act as a bold statement of your organisation's commitment to equality of opportunity for all your constituents.

We commend this guide to you, and look forward to the tangible advantage which will result for the whole community as people who have disabilities are able to move freely and contribute effectively to the social, cultural, political and economic environment in which we all live.

1. Introduction
2. How to develop an action plan
3. Summary
4. Glossary
5. Appendix 1: Checklist
6. Appendix 2: Examples
7. Appendix 3: Legislative requirements for action plans
8. Appendix 4: Relevant sections of the DDA
9. Appendix 5: HREOC DDA resources

1. Introduction

What is an action plan?
What does an action plan do?
Who can have an action plan?
What disabilities should be covered by your action plan?
What about disability specific organisations?
Before you start
It won't cost the earth
Action plans and employment policies
Clients from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-english speaking backgrounds

What is an action plan?

An Action Plan is a strategy for changing those practices which might result in discrimination against people with disabilities. An Action Plan will help your organisation to identify these practices and will offer a blueprint for change.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate in the provision of goods, services or facilities against people on the basis that they have, or may have, a disability. It also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis that one of her or his associates has, or may have, a disability.

The Act states that organisations may develop Action Plans to eliminate discriminatory practices and that these may be lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).

What does an action plan do?

Show commitment and eliminate discrimination
Promote principles of access and equity
Achieve service goals
Benefit other clients
Assist your organisation to comply with the DDA and eliminate the need for complaints
Improve funding prospects

Show commitment and eliminate discrimination

Non-government organisations (NGOs), or community organisations as they are sometimes called, are known for their commitment to social justice. This involves commitment to human rights, including the right to live free of discrimination.

Most non-government organisations have thought about discrimination issues in the context of service delivery. Many will have policy statements committing the organisation to the provision of services which are accessible for all people, including people who have a disability.

The adoption and implementation of an Action Plan is just another way in which your organisation can demonstrate commitment to the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities. And because they are about action rather than words, Plans are certain to produce results.

Promote principles of access and equity

Most community organisations will already have thought about ensuring that services are accessible to those sections of the community which traditionally experience barriers in obtaining services - women, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people with disabilities.

Most agencies will already have thought about implementing strategies to ensure that these groups have access to the services offered by the organisation - these measures are often called 'access and equity' strategies. Your organisation may already have strategies in place which ensure that all clients, including people with a disability, can use your services.

An Action Plan is perfectly compatible with your existing access and equity aims. In fact, a Plan will promote your chances of achieving these aims.

Achieve service goals

NGOs are generally not designed to make a profit. Instead, they evaluate their success in terms of the quality of service provision and the proportion of target community reached in relation to the resources allocated.

The DDA uses a very broad definition of 'disability' which encompasses a large section of the Australian community.

Even using a narrower definition of 'disability', the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) information (1993) shows that 3.2 million people, or 18.3% of all Australians identify as having a disability (up from 15.6 in 1988).

If the DDA's broad definition of 'disability' is applied, this proportion is much greater. When the associates, carers, friends and lovers of people with a disability are added to this group, the end result represents a sizeable constituency.

An Action Plan will improve the quality of your service provision and ensure your organisation reaches a larger proportion of the community.

Benefit other clients

Changes made to encourage people with disabilities to use your service will also benefit other clients. For example:

changes to the physical environment which enhance access mean that space is easier to negotiate for older people or people with prams or shopping trolleys;
clearer signage is helpful to people with an intellectual or learning disability, people with a disability affecting their vision and people from non-English speaking backgrounds; and
the establishment of confidentiality procedures ensures that the privacy rights of all clients are respected.

Assist your organisation to comply with the DDA and eliminate the need for complaints

Implementing an Action Plan will help your organisation avoid complaints being made against it. As such, a Plan can act as an insurance policy against DDA complaints.

Avoiding complaints means protecting your reputation within the community and ensuring that time and money is not tied up in defending complaints.

Through the development of an Action Plan your organisation will have the opportunity to consider complex issues like 'unjustifiable hardship' appropriately and in a consultative manner, rather than hurriedly in the context of a DDA complaint.

Improve funding prospects

A likely outcome of the DDA is that governments at all levels will increasingly apply pressure to NGOs to implement disability access. DDA compliance will become a factor in evaluating an organisation's entitlement to funding.

Who can have an action plan?

The Disability Discrimination Act says that any 'service provider' can have an Action Plan. This term is a very broad one and includes anyone who provides services, offers goods or makes facilities available, free or at a cost. It applies to:

Commonwealth and State government departments;
Commonwealth public authorities like Australia Post and the Electoral Commission;
State instrumentalities such as public transport authorities and electricity commissions;
local government;
educational institutions;
businesses;
non-government organisations funded wholly or in part by government; and
individuals.

Examples of 'service providers' include:

banks and other providers of financial services;
retailers, from the largest department store to the corner shop;
cinemas, nightclubs and other providers of entertainment;
travel agents, airlines and hotels;
telecommunications enterprises from Telecom and Optus to the ABC;
carpenters, solicitors and others who sell or trade their skills;
local libraries, swimming pools or other municipal services;
lumber yards, brickworks and other suppliers of materials for industry;
government and private transport services;
schools and public and private universities and colleges;
charitable and religious organisations; and
non-government organisations like community heath centres, neighbourhood centres, migrant resource centres, community legal centres, SkillShare and other vocational training services and other not-for-profit associations.

What disabilities should be covered by your action plan?

The Act uses a very broad definition of 'disability' and covers disabilities which are physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory and neurological. It also covers physical disfigurement and the presence in the body of an organism capable of causing disease, such as HIV.

The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of a disability that he or she has, had, may have in the future or is assumed to have. It also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis that his or her associate (partner, carer, friend or family member) has a disability.

What about disability specific organisations?

The DDA says that actions taken to promote 'equal opportunity' for people with a disability are not unlawful. Equal opportunity for people with a disability means improving their prospects of sharing fairly in the distribution of employment opportunities, accommodation and education.

This does not mean that disability specific services are not covered by the DDA. It just means that reasonable actions taken to promote equal opportunity for people with a disability cannot be challenged under the DDA just because they assist persons with one form of disability and not persons with another disability.

This protection only relates to those specific actions taken to promote equal opportunity, not all the actions of that organisation. For example, an organisation which provides services for people who have a disability affecting their vision, will not be protected from a complaint that the premises are not accessible for a blind person who uses a wheelchair. The organisation will have to rely on the 'unjustifiable hardship' provisions, just like any other organisation.

Similarly, an organisation offering training for people with intellectual disabilities may not discriminate against a potential trainee with an intellectual disability, just because he or she may have HIV/AIDS.

Before you start

It is essential that those responsible for the preparation of the Action Plan understand the objectives of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

The Act requires no more than respect for the basic human rights of people with disabilities. It accepts that some differential treatment will be unavoidable and that not all discriminatory practices can be remedied without imposing unjustifiable hardship.

It is important that the Action Plan reflects the spirit of the DDA.

It won't cost the earth

Action Plans can be affordable and easy to implement.

Non-government organisations operate on very limited budgets. Fortunately, Action Plans will not require the application of huge amounts of resources. Mostly, Action Plans require reallocation of existing resources, and are about changing work practices and attitudes rather than spending money.

Action Plans will also be relatively easy to implement. For most NGOs an Action Plan will require only a very small shift in thinking. Such organisations will find it much easier to implement Action Plans than some other organisations where profit motives may be seen to be at odds with the Plan.

For this reason alone, non-government organisations may well end up taking the lead in the development and implementation of Action Plans.

Action plans and employment practices

The DDA's Action Plan provisions target organisations as service providers rather than as employers. While it is not essential for Action Plans to include employment reforms, it makes sense to develop your Action Plan in association with a review of employment practices.

Employment practices which appear to be non-discriminatory may in fact disadvantage people with disabilities. Most often this discrimination will be indirect. It will almost always be unintentional. Nevertheless, a discriminatory employment practice will be seen by staff and the public alike as being at odds with an Action Plan.

Staff support for the Action Plan is crucial to its successful implementation. This will be enhanced by an understanding of disability issues and the need for action to eliminate discrimination. This can be achieved through the provision of information and/or education.

An Action Plan also depends for its success upon people with disabilities developing confidence in the capacity of your organisation to deliver its services in an accessible way. Any confidence developed in response to the implementation of an Action Plan will be undermined by perceptions of your organisation as a discriminatory employer, particularly where employment strategies result in highly public DDA complaints being lodged with HREOC.

By reviewing employment practices, the organisation will identify those human resources within the organisation which will be crucial to the successful implementation of the Action Plan. Staff who have experience with disability issues or an understanding of discrimination will be an enormous asset in implementing the Plan.

The process will also help identify non-employment issues which will need to be addressed by the Action Plan. It will introduce the staff of your organisation to discrimination issues and may contribute to the development of a sense of ownership of the Action Plan. This will heighten the commitment of your staff to ensuring the Plan succeeds.

Clients from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-english speaking backgrounds

People with disabilities from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds often encounter additional barriers in attempting to access services. Access is made difficult not only because of the potential client's disability, but also because services are not offered in a way which is culturally and/or linguistically appropriate.

Non-government organisations will be familiar with the need for cultural sensitivity in service provision. This is no less the case for initiatives to make your services more accessible for people with disabilities.

In developing an Action Plan, non-government organisations will need to consider the following:

collection of data on current and potential service users with disabilities from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds, particularly information which enables your service to address the specific needs of these communities;
ways of distributing information about services offered - simple translation of information into other languages may not be sufficient. Minority communities have different yet well established networks, and a service may need to access these if it is to effectively distribute information about its services;
familiarity with working with interpreters and translators;
staff attitudes, including ignorance of different cultures and possible racism;
development of staff policies and provision of staff training to ensure effective delivery of services to the whole community, particularly people from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds;
involvement of people from an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds in the development of strategies to make services accessible for people from these communities; and
evaluation of strategies to ensure their effectiveness in making services accessible.

2. How to develop an action plan

Review your current activities
Develop policies and programs
Goals and targets
Devise evaluation strategies for your action plan
Allocate responsibility
Communication

Your Action Plan will need to be tailored to meet the particular needs of your organisation and its clients, but there are some 'musts' (see Appendix 3).

The steps set out below will guide you towards the development of an Action Plan which is not only responsive to the needs of your organisation's management, staff, clients and funding bodies, but which satisfies all the legal requirements as well.

In Appendix 2 there are some sample Action Plans to assist you develop your own Plan.

Review your current activities

Collect information
Identify physical barriers which limit access to the service
Identify communication barriers
Identify attitudinal barriers
Consider confidentiality
Use experts to collect and process information

The action plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to the review of practices within the service provider with a view to the identification of any discriminatory practices; DDA s.61(c)

Before developing the Plan, an organisation must conduct a review (or audit) of the ways in which its practices might obstruct potential clients with disabilities from having access to its services.

Organisations should consider the ways that participation by people with disabilities is prevented or limited. Participation can take many forms but it includes having access to all of the organisation's services and involvement in the public aspects of the organisation, including:

open days;
organisation membership;
attendance at annual general meetings;
management committee membership;
client surveys;
community consultation; and
complaints processes.

Traditionally, few organisations have collected this information so it is unlikely the relevant data will be available without a review. This information is essential so that an organisation can effectively plan for the future.

The review will be an essential first step in assessing current performance level, identifying areas in need of change and developing realistic targets and goals.

The review information will be essential for evaluation of your organisation's progress towards Action Plan goals. It should be kept so that useful comparisons may be made in the future.

A successful review will require old practices to be considered from a new perspective. For this reason it may be useful to have the review conducted independently.

The following actions will need to be included in your review.

Collect information

Organisations should, where possible, collect information to support their Action Plans. Information may be obtained from client surveys, service statistics, demographic data, staff and organisations representing people with disabilities. Useful data will include:

the range of potential clients;
the changing nature of the potential client base; and
the frequency with which your services are used by clients with disabilities i.e. an organisation should ask itself exactly how many clients with disabilities it actually has (provisions must be made for keeping this information confidential).

Client profile data can be useful in identifying shortcomings in accessibility. It can also be an excellent measure by which to assess improvements in making the service more accessible for clients with disabilities.

For example, a survey of the staff in your organisation may indicate that they cannot recall a single instance of providing a service to a client with a disability over the last twelve months. While many disabilities are not visible, the fact that no-one can recall having a client who was assisted by a guide dog or a mobility aid, a client who uses a hearing aid or who has a hearing loss, or a client who uses a wheelchair, clearly suggests that people with disabilities are not using your services at a rate which might be expected.

Identify physical barriers which limit access to the service

Organisations should identify the physical barriers which restrict access to premises. To do this you will need to consider, among other things:

all the areas to which your clients should be entitled to have access;
physical structures such as doorways and stairs which may act as barriers to clients with mobility disabilities;
structures designed to deliver services such as client information counters or client reception desks;
signage which is confusing or inadequate;
decor which may be obstructive for clients with disabilities affecting their vision;
non-visual guides to assist clients use your space, including lifts which help clients with a vision impairment locate the correct floor through the inclusion of buttons with tactile cues or the announcing of floor levels; and
ways of assisting clients move around the space at times of emergency and evacuation, including such things as visual fire alarms.

Identify communication barriers

Each organisation should identify how it communicates with people and ask itself:

how are people with disabilities portrayed in information produced by the organisation in particular, could this portrayal (or alternatively, the complete omission of reference to people with disabilities) be considered offensive?
what provisions are made for making information available to all people who may want access to the organisation's services?
does it provide information in braille, large print or on audiotape for clients who have difficulty with standard forms of printed information?
does it provide information in appropriate language for clients with intellectual disabilities?
does it enable information to be exchanged through signing and other non-verbal means? Organisations should consider the availability of sign-language interpreters, including strategies for employing staff with these skills.
does it ensure access to computer technology which is usable by clients with disabilities?
does it ensure that all videos or films produced or presented are captioned?
does it, as a matter of course, ensure that when information is provided to a group, hearing loops are set up to assist clients with hearing disabilities?
does it ensure that staff are familiar with the technology and practices developed to assist people with disabilities? An organisation needs to be sure staff are able to use a Telephone Typewriter (TTY) and a hearing loop, and are able to work with sign interpreters.

Identify attitudinal barriers

Organisations need to think about how staff attitudes towards people with disabilities may impact on service provision.

Where staff lack understanding of Action Plan goals and strategies or have discriminatory beliefs themselves, people with disabilities may encounter attitudinal barriers which will discourage them from seeking access to the organisation's services.

While organisations should not seek to control the attitudes of staff, where these attitudes lead to discriminatory behaviour towards clients the organisation may find itself in breach of the DDA.

Your organisation will need to think about the extent to which discriminatory attitudes reflect ignorance and the subsequent need for your staff to receive more information about people with a disability.

Consider confidentiality

Clients of your organisation, like all people, have privacy rights. They have the right to access services without being required to disclose unnecessary personal information. If this information is provided, your clients have the right to have it kept confidential.

In particular, clients may wish to keep information about their disabilities confidential. People who have (or are thought to have) a disability may experience discrimination. Disclosure of information about a client's disability may have a negative impact on that person's employment, access to education and training, friendships and support networks.

Clients will, quite reasonably, seek a guarantee that personal information will be kept confidential. Organisations will need to review their confidentiality procedures to ensure that personal information is safeguarded against unauthorised disclosure and misuse.

Use experts to collect and process information

Any review of the organisation's activities, or assessment of barriers to access must involve people with disabilities.

Organisations preparing Action Plans cannot afford to disregard the expertise developed by people with disabilities. This expertise will include the ability to quickly identify those barriers which discourage people with disabilities from becoming clients of the organisation.

Develop policies and programs

Devise strategies to eliminate barriers to your organisation
Utilise available expertise
Resource your action plan
Ensure the future of your action plan
Promote your action plan

The action plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to the devising of policies and programs to achieve the objects of this Act; DDA s.61(a).

Devise strategies to eliminate barriers to your organisation

Having completed a review, as outlined in stage one, your organisation will be aware of the way it prevents potential clients with disabilities from using your services.

If the review of your organisation's activities indicates that attitudinal barriers are most responsible for preventing potential clients with disabilities from using your services, the Action Plan will need to focus on changing those attitudes. If the review indicates that clients with disabilities are discouraged from approaching your organisation due to physical barriers, these will need to be the cornerstone of plans for organisational reform.

This information, along with knowledge of your specific organisation and the needs of your clients, will enable you to develop strategies to make your services more attainable by clients with disabilities. For example, if your organisation's objective is to encourage more people who have a hearing loss to use your organisation's services, a strategy might be to install TTYs.

Workplace education sessions may be a strategy for achieving attitudinal changes among staff.

Utilise available expertise

People with disabilities have experience in identifying those organisational practices which discourage them from using services.

As with any initiative, an organisation with limited resources will want to make use of existing expertise in the development, implementation and evaluation of an Action Plan. Organisations should think about utilising available expertise when:

conducting reviews of organisational practice;
establishing advisory panels to assist the organisation with disability issues;
engaging consultancy teams to assist the organisation; and
developing or conducting evaluations of Action Plan initiatives.

For example, where an organisation decides to set up a working party to consider access issues, it should ensure that people with disabilities are represented on the party. Programs to encourage staff attitudinal changes should be developed by teams which include people with disabilities.

Through effective consultation and participation, your organisation will gain access to a wealth of expertise in disability issues.

Resource your action plan

Action Plans need to be appropriately resourced.

The costs of implementing an Action Plan need to be recognised as an important ongoing expenditure and incorporated into current and future budgets.

Job contracts and descriptions should reflect the community's expectation that staff work towards the implementation of the Action Plan. In an environment where staff will already be experiencing heavy work demands, it is important to legitimise staff efforts to implement an Action Plan by including these in job descriptions.

Ensure the future of your action plan

Develop policy

Action Plans should be reflected in your organisation's policy. By incorporating into policies a commitment to the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities and the implementation of Action Plan strategies, organisations:

demonstrate commitment to the Plan's objectives;
indicate the support of management for the initiative;
legitimise the allocation of resources to the implementation of the Action Plan;
ensure that the commitment to the Plan continues beyond the employment of a few key people; and
inspire confidence on the part of the public that the commitment is real rather than transitory.

Mainstream the action plan

In the short term, it may be that an Action Plan will be a separate component of your organisation's approach to service delivery. However, over time the Action Plan will become part of your general approach to service planning.

The Action Plan will become less an independent strategy and more a thread running through all organisation plans.

Develop an informed planning process

To ensure that planning is done effectively, it is important that those involved in the planning process are informed about the function of an Action Plan. Over time, individuals responsible for this planning will be replaced. Action Plans will need to include strategies for ensuring that future planners are made aware of Plan goals.

Promote your action plan

Ensure information is publicly available

Non-government organisations are accountable to the communities they serve. One way in which this accountability is guaranteed is by having memberships which elect the organisation's management. Elected representatives have a responsibility to account to the membership for the activities of the organisation, including the implementation of an Action Plan.

Quite apart from any responsibility, progress towards Action Plan goals is information any organisation will want to make available to the public. Opportunities to publicly account for Action Plan progress include annual general meetings, annual reports, evaluation reports and audits.

Access to the Action Plan and its implementation process will also encourage a sense of ownership of the Plan among staff and clients. This sense of ownership, of having a stake in the success of the Plan, will encourage staff and clients to make contributions to the Plan's implementation and improvement.

A copy of your Plan may be given to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and may then be made available by the Commission to other organisations as an example of an Action Plan. Giving an Action Plan to the Commission acts as a clear statement of your organisation's commitment to non-discriminatory practices.

Establish grievance procedures

An effective grievance procedure encourages confidence in the Plan and facilitates feedback on ways the Plan may be improved. It maintains goodwill between your organisation, your clients and the general community. It may also be an effective way of preventing DDA complaints, through resolution of disputes at an early stage.

Grievance procedures need to be publicised. They should be quick, efficient and capable of delivering results.

Goals and targets

Think about specific goals and targets
Set time frames

The action plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to the setting of goals and targets, where these may reasonably be determined against which the success of the plan in achieving the objects of the Act may be assessed; DDA s.61(d)

Think about specific goals and targets

Without goals and targets, Action Plans will be much more about 'plans' than 'action'.

Without goals and targets, it will be difficult for your organisation either to assess improvements in making services available to potential clients with disabilities, or identify ways your Plan might be further improved.

Goals and targets should be specific enough to enable them to be measured. For example:

all community education information produced by the organisation to be made available in alternative formats; or
all staff to undertake 10 hours training per year in the area of disability discrimination.

Set time frames

Strategies designed to achieve goals and targets must include time frames.

Whereas a strategy may be a path towards desired reform, time frames are required to set the pace of reform.

The inclusion of time frames will have a number of benefits. Staff and clients alike will develop confidence in the Plan. It will be viewed as a positive force capable of producing results rather than as a vague wish list. At the same time, Action Plan expectations will remain realistic and achievable.

Without time frames, strategies cannot be evaluated.

Using the examples above, the strategies are greatly improved by the incorporation of time frames:

all community education information to be made available in alternative formats by December 1995; and
all permanent staff to be undertaking x hours disability discrimination training per year by 1995, all other staff to be undertaking x hours disability discrimination training per year by 1997.

Devise evaluation strategies for your action plan

The action plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to the means other than [goals and targets] of evaluating the policies and programs [included in the plan]; DDA s.61(e)

Without evaluation an organisation will have no way of determining whether it is achieving its goals or whether its implementation program is producing value for the resources invested.

Evaluation strategies should be developed in connection with goals, targets and time frames.

The success of an effective Action Plan may be illustrated by any number of changes such as increases in the numbers of clients with disabilities, measurable changes in staff attitudes or improvements in the physical accessibility of your premises.

Successful compliance should be proudly trumpeted by the organisation, and could be a standard component of any annual report, internal or external evaluation or audit.

Allocate responsibility

The action plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to the appointment of persons within the service provider to implement the [action plan] provisions...; DDA s.61(f)

As with any initiative, smooth implementation of the Action Plan will require that clear lines of responsibility be established.

Depending on the organisation, responsibility may best lie with an individual, a team of staff, with management, or with a combination.

Information from clients and potential clients will also assist in the improvement of the Plan. To facilitate this feedback, contact details for the person or group should be made readily available.

Communication

The Action Plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to the communication of [action plan] policies and programs to persons within the service provider; DDA s.61(b)

For the Plan to succeed, a team effort will be required on the part of both staff and management.

Your organisation must devise ways to communicate to staff the value of successfully implementing an Action Plan and what they are required to do to ensure successful implementation.

Training in Action Plan responsibilities will need to be undertaken with staff and management. Training will need to include attitudinal issues together with practical instruction.

Management should devise ways of encouraging present staff to undertake training and develop strategies for the training of future staff.

3. Summary

The Action Plan process is similar to any other strategy employed by your organisation to improve service delivery. It will fit comfortably with your objective of ensuring the continued success of your organisation. The stages are:

review your current practices;
develop policies and programs;
develop goals and targets;
devise evaluation strategies for your Action Plan;
allocate responsibility; and
develop communication strategies.

4. Glossary

Alternative formats: Information presented in formats other than the standard printed form. Alternative formats include presenting information on audiotape or on computer disk (in various formats), in large print or in braille.

Auslan/sign language: Official non-verbal (signed) language of the Deaf community of Australia.

Closed captions: Written messages which appear on a television or movie screen and which represent the program's auditory messages (primarily dialogue) in written form. Closed captions are revealed through special components of electronic technology (televisions, videos) which are optional with most commercial brands.

Commissioner: A Commissioner of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Commissioners are responsible for the promotion and implementation of human rights legislation. Some Commissioners are responsible for promoting the objects of a particular Act eg. the Disability Discrimination Commissioner is concerned primarily with the administration and promotion of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). A Hearing Commissioner is responsible for determining complaints after a formal hearing (having heard evidence from both complainant and respondent and relevant witnesses).

Complainant: Person or organisation who lodges a complaint of discrimination with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Conciliation: Process following lodging of a complaint of unlawful discrimination whereby staff of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission bring complainant and respondent together to see if the complaint can be settled without the need for formal hearing. The usual requirement that conciliation be attempted may be dispensed with in certain circumstances.

Disability: A condition or state of being which is covered by the broad DDA definition. The term includes physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual and neurological disabilities, physical disfigurement and the presence in the body of organisms causing or capable of causing disease, such as HIV - the virus which causes AIDS.

Hearing loop/audio loop: Magnetic field which helps prevent external sounds from interfering with intended auditory messages within a given space. Loops are set up in particular rooms or auditoriums to facilitate hearing by people who use a hearing aid.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ('the Commission'): A Commonwealth statutory authority responsible for administering a number of pieces of Commonwealth legislation relating to human rights and anti-discrimination. The Commission also acts as a decision making tribunal when matters cannot be conciliated - it makes these decisions after holding formal inquiries.

Peak Disability Organisations: Organisations representing groups of disability organisations. Peak organisations often liaise with government in relation to disability issues.

Respondent: Person, organisation or department alleged in a complaint as having unlawfully discriminated against a person.

Service provider: Any person, organisation, government department or agency which provides goods, service or facilities to the public, for free or at a cost.

Telephone Typewriter or TTY: Device attached to a telephone line which allows callers to communicate by typing messages which are instantaneously seen by the person at the other end of the line.

Unjustifiable hardship: Basis upon which a respondent can defend a complaint of disability discrimination. The respondent might successfully argue that not to discriminate would impose upon him/her/it an unjustifiable hardship. In determining unjustifiable hardship, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission considers all the circumstances of the particular case, including the benefits and detriment to relevant persons, the effect of the relevant disability, financial circumstances and any Action Plan given to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission by the service provider.

Appendix 1: Checklist

How does your organisation collect information about actual and potential service users who may seek access to your goods, services and facilities?
What physical barriers need altering to encourage people with a disability to use your services?
How can you change communication practices to ensure that all people may have access to your information and provide information to you?
Are staff allowing their own discriminatory practices to impact on the provision of services? How might this problem be addressed to ensure you provide a quality service?
Will the review of your practices use the expertise of people with disabilities in identifying barriers to access and developing your Action Plan?
Have you determined ways to evaluate your progress towards Action Plan goals?
Are your goals and targets achievable?
Have you set time frames to ensure your goals and targets are effective?
Has your organisation ensured the production of the best possible Action Plan through effective consultation with people with disabilities?
Has the organisation allocated sufficient resources, priority and authority to ensure the successful implementation of your Action Plan?
How are you going to inform and educate staff about their role in implementing your Action Plan?
Have you devised strategies for publicising your commitment to your Action Plan so that your organisation reaps all possible benefits?
Does your organisation have a procedure that addresses complaints?
Has your organisation incorporated long term planning and evaluation strategies into your Action Plan?

Appendix 2: Examples

Example one: Munkaroo Neighbourhood Centre
Example two: Advocacy Australia

The organisations used in these examples are fictional. Any similarity to an existing organisation is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

Example one: Munkaroo Neighbourhood Centre

The Munkaroo Neighbourhood Centre is a community-based organisation which receives funding from the state government and the local council. It employs two community development workers, a social worker, two counsellors, a family support worker, coordinator and two administrative workers.

The Centre leases premises from the local council for a nominal fee.

The Centre is run by a management committee comprised of people who live or work locally and employee representatives. The Committee discusses the DDA at a monthly meeting and decides to discuss the issue further at a Centre planning day.

At the planning day there is general acknowledgment that the Centre does not provide services to many people with disabilities. While statistical information is not kept on the number of clients with disabilities, staff consider that the figure is far less than the 18.3% of the population who, according to information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, have a disability.

Together, management and staff identify ways in which people with disabilities may be prevented from having access to the service.

Acquiring clients/advertising the service

The Centre acquires most of its clients through referrals. Referral statistics indicate that few clients are referred by local disability services. Staff concede that the Centre does not have an ongoing relationship with these services.

The Centre has produced a flyer promoting available services, however:

the information is not available in alternative formats; and
the flyers are distributed through a number of other agencies, most of which are not accessible for people who use wheelchairs or who have other mobility disabilities, and which generally do not see a high percentage of clients with disabilities.

Policy issues

There are no management committee members with significant knowledge of disability issues.

The Centre has always had a strong commitment to social justice and access and equity. It has not, however, focused its attentions specifically on people with disabilities. Consequently, an otherwise strong policy statement about access and equity is silent on the issue of people with disabilities.

Strategies which have been implemented to make services accessible for people from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds do not address the needs of those members of these communities with disabilities.

Staff skills

Only one staff member has had experience in the disability field and she feels that her skills have not been utilised during her employment at the Centre.

Physical access issues

The Centre is poorly sign-posted, making it difficult to locate for people who have a disability affecting their vision, or an intellectual disability, or who are unable to read English.

The Centre is not accessible for clients who use wheelchairs. There is a ramp to the front door but this ramp has been constructed at such a gradient that it is unsafe for use by clients who use a wheelchair.

The Centre is overcrowded and clients who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids are not able to move easily around inside.

The toilets are not wheelchair accessible.

The only access between the Centre's first and second floors is via a narrow staircase. The result of this is that access to the second floor is impossible for most clients who have a mobility disability. All the Centre's confidential interview rooms are on the second floor.

There are no visual fire alarms installed in the building.

Parking spaces have not been reserved for people with disabilities.

Communication issues

The Centre does not have a TTY.

Staff have not received training around issues of communication with people with disabilities.

The staff and management hold discussions on the need for an Action Plan and planning takes place over the next two months. A working group is formed - two staff are nominated to work with three members of the management committee on the development of a Plan.

In developing the Plan the working group consults extensively with local disability organisations and other agencies which have experience implementing an Action Plan. To ensure that the Action Plan addresses the need to make services accessible for people with disabilities from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds, the working group liaises extensively with Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking background communities and their representative organisations.

Munkaroo Neighbourhood Centre action plan

Liaise with council

The Centre will liaise with the local council with a view to having the premises made accessible for people with disabilities. In particular, the council will be asked to consider its own liability under the DDA for funding inaccessible services. It will be suggested to council that priorities should include a safe ramp to the front door, wheelchair accessible toilets, access to the second floor and visual fire alarms.

Responsibility: Management Committee President to write to Council within two weeks. Committee President to follow up with a phone call to Council's Buildings Manager within three weeks of letter being sent. To be discussed October Management Committee meeting.
Budget: NA

Interim physical access measures

In the meantime the following measures will be taken by staff:

A confidential interview space will be established on the ground floor.
The Centre will lease space at a storage facility enabling the Centre to be reorganised so that passage around the premises is made easier for people with disabilities.

Responsibility: Coordinator
Budget: Building and equipment

Communication

(i) All future community forums will have a sign language interpreter present. Community language interpreters will be made available where appropriate.

Responsibility: Coordinator
Budget: Project

(ii) The Centre will purchase a TTY within three months and all staff will receive TTY training within a month of the TTY being installed. The TTY number will be featured on all Centre stationery (from the next print-run), in all Centre publicity (including on the Centre flyer) and recorded in the TTY directory as soon as possible.

Responsibility: Administrator
Budget: Capital equipment (purchase and installation), Stationery (stationery and fliers), Phone (ongoing TTY expenses)

(iii) The Centre flyer will be translated into braille and will be made available in large print within two months. Flyers will be sent in these formats to all other community services in the area, including disability services. Responsibility: AdministratorBudget: Publications (iv) An advertising campaign will be run on Radio for the Print Handicapped (RPH) within two months.

Responsibility: Administrator
Budget: Advertising

(v) Staff members with signing skills (currently only one) will be encouraged to use and maintain these skills while an employee of the service. The Centre will pay the costs of maintaining these skills. This will be drafted into a policy for consideration by Management Committee at its December meeting.

Responsibility: Coordinator
Budget:Training

(vi) The Centre will identify which local services (in particular, services which have a significant number of clients with disabilities) produce newsletters. Staff to arrange placement of an advertisement in these newsletters. Staff are authorised to spend $500 on advertising the service through these channels. The advertising is to include information on services, accessibility of premises, TTY number and availability of information in alternative formats.

Responsibility: Coordinator
Budget: Advertising

(vii) The Centre will work with relevant community organisations to develop a strategy for providing information about services to, and making services accessible for, people with disabilities from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds. Consultations will be held with members of these communities and their representatives to formulate policies and procedures to ensure access to services for all people with disabilities, regardless of cultural and/or linguistic background.

Responsibility: Management Committee President to write to all relevant community organisations within one month and to initiate consultations within two months.
Budget: Project

Training

(i) Training will be provided to familiarise staff with dealing with clients with disabilities.

Responsibility: Coordinator
Budget: Training

(ii) Staff training will be provided to develop cross-cultural skills in delivering services to clients with disabilities.

Responsibility: Coordinator
Budget: Training

Confidentiality

Staff will spend half a day revising client confidentiality provisions and will produce a redrafted policy for consideration by the Management Committee at its January 1995 meeting.

Responsibility: Coordinator and all staff
Budget: NA

Example two: Advocacy Australia

The organisation used in this example is fictional. Any similarity to any existing organisations is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

Advocacy Australia is the national peak organisation representing advocacy groups in all states and territories. Its role is to represent the interests of member organisations in its liaison with the Commonwealth government and other funding agencies and to collect and distribute information to member organisations.

Advocacy Australia receives funding from the Commonwealth government. The organisation employs an Executive Director, a Principle Policy Officer and a second Policy Officer, Information Services Manager, Publications Officer, Coordinator, Administrator and Receptionist.

At its national conference, the organisation debates the issue of disability discrimination in one of its plenary sessions. The session is addressed by representatives of two peak disability organisations. The session recommends to the management of Advocacy Australia that it develop and implement an Action Plan and that it support its members to do the same.

At its next meeting, the Advocacy Australia Management Committee, comprising representatives of state and local member organisations, decides to proceed with the development of an Action Plan. The Committee notes its following responsibilities:

to ensure its own services are available to all persons, regardless of whether or not they have a disability;
to support member organisations in the development of Action Plans;
to publicly demonstrate support for the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and support for the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities; and
to promote Action Plans to member organisations in view of the Commonwealth's interest in ensuring that funded organisations do not discriminate against people with disabilities.

Advocacy Australia considers its own services:

annual national conference;
provision of information to the public;
liaison with government over funding issues;
support of member organisations; production of bimonthly newsletter; development and circulation of discussion papers; and lobbying.

Advocacy Australia develops the following Action Plan in consultation with its members and disability peak organisations.

Advocacy Australia action plan 1995-1999

Annual national (Administrator and Information Services Manager)

Advocacy Australia will purchase or hire a hearingloop for use at future national conferences. Staff will be trained in the setting up of the loop within six months.
All future conference sessions will have sign language interpreters, and community language interpreters as appropriate.
All future conference papers will be made available in various formats including large print and computer disk. Papers will also be translated into community languages as appropriate. All future sessions will be taped and audio recordings of all sessions will be made available free of charge and upon request.
Conference papers will, where possible, be made available in advance.
Future conferences will be held in accessible premises.

Provision of information to the public (Information Services Manager and Publications Officer)

A TTY will be purchased and installed within two months. The number will be listed in the TTY directory. The number will be listed on all Advocacy Australia letterhead from the date of the next stationary print.
A flyer advertising the details of TTY service will be distributed to organisations for Deaf people and people who have a speech disability.
Within three months information will be made available in large print.
Advocacy Australia will, where possible, collect and provide information in alternative formats.
The collection of information on disability issues as they relate to self advocacy will be expanded.
Access and equity policies and procedures will be reviewed within three months to ensure these policies meet the information needs of people from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds who have a disability.

Liaison with government in relation to funding (Executive Director)

Advocacy Australia will liaise with government funding bodies to obtain financial support for reforms undertaken by a member organisations in accordance with their action plans.
Advocacy Australia will, within six months, seek special funding to run a two day Action Plan workshop for employees of member organisations.
Advocacy Australia will, within six months, indicate to government the commitment of member organisations and Advocacy Australia to developing and implementing Action Plans.

Support of member organisations (Principle Policy Officer and Information Services Manager)

Within six months, Advocacy Australia will prepare a written advice for member organisations on the importance of developing an Action Plan. This advice will include practical suggestions for the development of Action Plans by individual organisations.
Within three months Advocacy Australia will obtain information from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on the development of Action Plans and make these resources available to member organisations to assist them with the development of Plans.
Advocacy Australia authorises its Principal Policy Officer to allocate 20% of her time to support member organisations in the development of Plans.

Production of the bimonthly newsletter (Publications Officer)

By December 1995 the newsletter will be made available in various formats including in large print and on computer disk, and community languages as appropriate, and this will be publicised in the newsletter.
The availability of the newsletter in alternative formats will be advertised in other organisations' newsletters.

Development of policy and practice (Policy Officer)

Advocacy Australia is committed to undertaking consultation in developing discussion papers and policy positions. It will ensure feedback from people with disabilities by the following mechanisms:

provide information and draft documents in alternative formats including large print, braille and on audio cassette and computer disk;
final drafts of policies will be produced in alternative formats, and appropriate community languages;
the Advocacy Australia data base will be reviewed within three months to ensure Advocacy Australia has included all appropriate disability organisations and relevant ethnic and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups; and
Advocacy Australia will raise the issue of disability and advocacy for discussion at the next annual national conference. It will seek support from the conference to give disability issues higher priority for 1996-97.

Lobbying (Executive Director and Principle Policy Officer)

Within six months, Advocacy Australia will take steps to improve its relationship with disability peak organisations. This will involve Advocacy Australia learning more about current disability issues and the ways in which Advocacy Australia may lend support to some of the initiatives of the disability movement.
Advocacy Australia will not advocate positions in opposition to those taken by disability peak organisations without liaising with the disability peak organisation prior to making public comment.
Expert advice will be sought from relevant disability organisations in relation to some current lobbying initiatives, including Advocacy Australia's current work on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Appendix 3: Legislative requirements for action plans

It is not a requirement of the DDA that service providers prepare and implement Action Plans. However, if service providers decide to prepare an Action Plan, the DDA specifies that the Plan must include certain things.

Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Provisions of action plans:

SECTION 61

The action plan of a service provider must include provisions relating to:

the devising of policies and programs to achieve the objects of this Act;and
the communication of these policies and programs to persons within the service provider; and
the review of practices within the service provider with a view to the identification of any discriminatory practices; and
the setting of goals and targets, where these may reasonably be determined against which the success of the plan in achieving the objects of the Act may be assessed; and
the means, other than those referred to in paragraph (d), of evaluating the policies and programs referred to in paragraph (a); and
the appointment of persons within the service provider to implement the provisions referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e) (inclusive).

Action plans may have other provisions:

SECTION 62

The action plan of a service provider may include provisions, other than those referred to in section 61, that are not inconsistent with the objects of this Act.

Appendix 4: Relevant sections of the DDA

SECTION 4

'disability', in relation to a person, means:

total or partial loss of the person's bodily or mental functions; or
total or partial loss of a part of the body; or
the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or
the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness; or
the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person's body; or
a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or
a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour; and includes a disability that:
presently exists; or
previously existed but no longer exists; or
may exist in the future; or
is imputed to a person.

Part 3 - Action plans interpretation

SECTION 59

In this Part:

'service provider' means a Department, a department of a State, a public authority of the Commonwealth, an instrumentality of a State, an educational institution or a person who:

provides goods or services; or
makes facilities available; whether for payment or not.

Action plans

SECTION 60

A service provider may prepare and implement an action plan.

Provision of action plans