Keeping Disability Action Plans on track

Victoria statutory authorities workshop

Tuesday 26 August 2008

Commissioner Graeme Innes

Introduction

I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting.

I was pleased to get this invitation to make a contribution to this forth and final workshop on the development of Disability Action Plans organised by the Office for Disability.

I and my staff have worked closely with the Office for Disability, as well as the Municipal Association of Victoria and Victorian Disability Advisory Council for many years and we are always eager to respond to requests to participate in their events.

Part of the reason for that is that I know that Victoria is a leader in the country in terms of innovative ideas and organisational commitment to developing strategies to address barriers to participation, including through the development of Action Plans.

Currently in Victoria there are 64 Local Government and 119 Community adult education centres along with a number of business and private organisations who have registered plans with the Commission. In addition there are a number of State Government authorities who have previously submitted plans and who are now revising them in the light of this new framework.

I am looking forward to receiving another 32 Action Plans from the statutory authorities involved in this project.

Legislative and policy responsibilities

While I am sure that during previous workshops you have discussed the legislative and policy basis for developing an Action Plan I think it worthwhile just reminding ourselves what they are:

First there are a number of direct legal responsibilities and liabilities under both Federal and State discrimination laws that can be addressed through the development of a plan. While Action Plans under the DDA are a voluntary provision developing and lodging them with the Commission provides some protection from successful complaints. This is because the progressive identification and removal of barriers reduces the chances of complaints and because in the event of a complaint being lodged an Action Plan can form part of a defence should the complaint proceed to the Federal Court.

Secondly, a growing number of public authorities are subject to policy or legislative obligations to develop them. My understanding here in Victoria is that in early 2009 regulations under the Disability Act will come into force requiring public sector bodies such as those represented here today to have an action plan. There are similar policy requirements in WA and South Australia and NSW is about to release new guidelines to assist Government agencies meet their legislative obligations to develop action plans under the NSW Disability Services Act.

Thirdly, an action plan might be one of the mechanisms by which a public body could address some of its responsibilities under the Charter of Human Rights which includes a prohibition on all forms of discrimination.

There are two other initiatives worth noting which put action plans in a broader context.

First is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. You will be aware that the Australian Government ratified the UN Convention in July this year which means that all levels of Government have a duty to act in a way that furthers progressive realisation of its Articles. This includes an obligation to remove barriers to, for example, goods and services, information, buildings, education and justice.

Secondly, the new Federal Government has committed to developing a National Disability Strategy which I understand will use the Convention as its reference point. While discussions on the content of the NDS are only just beginning I am hopeful that it will result in a strengthening of obligations across all levels of Government to develop pro-active approaches to barrier elimination.

Action Plans might be the mechanism for addressing both these developments in years to come.

I note that my colleague Maurice Corcoran who is currently working on the NDS is talking later about his work on Action Plans in South Australia and perhaps we might push him a little to outline progress in relation to the NDS.

Features of good action plans

While the Commission has no approval or monitoring functions in relation to Action Plans we have gained valuable experience in understanding the sort of factors that lead to effective plans and those that result in plans just fading away.

A couple of years ago I was here in Victoria talking to Local Government about action plans and tongue in cheek noted the dangers of the NAP, the STRAP and the FLAP.

The NAP or Nobody's Action Plan tends to take a nap at the back of a filing cabinet.

The STRAP or Someone's Taken the Resources Action Plan is the sort that is high on rhetoric but low on outcomes often because it is strapped for cash.

The FLAP or Floundering and Lost Action Plan is the sort that struggles to integrate itself into the organisations general business activities, it tends to flap around like a fish out of water.

I also noted the Created Reluctantly Action Plan which fails to get organisational leadership endorsement.

Joking aside these acronyms do point to a very real set of difficulties which have an effect on the development and implementation of action plans.

Here are some of these factors that I believe lead to more effective action plans:

Commitment from the top

First work to get senior management commitment. If you have commitment from senior management for the development of the plan, then you are more likely to ensure that meaningful timeframes and financial and human resources are allocated for implementation of the plan.

Unfortunately it is often the case that senior management commitments arise from an obligation rather than a passion to do things well. I and my staff regularly talk to people charged with responsibility for implementing action plans who clearly just don't “get it”.

They don't get why it is that a ramp without handrails on both sides and kerb rails is dangerous, they don't get why it is that glazed doors need to have colour contrast strips across them, they don't get why it is that a pdf document on a website is inaccessible to blind readers, they don't get why it is that staff attitudes are less likely to change without some leadership being shown at the highest levels.

I might add here that my office has produced a free CD called The good, the bad and the ugly which, while aimed more at building professionals, can be used as part of a staff awareness program to inform people about how people with disabilities move around in and use the built environment.

Some of the most effective action plans I have seen are those in organisations where people like yourselves have found ways to make sure senior management “get it”. How you do that depends on many factors including organisational culture and personalities, but I am sure people like Maurice, Deb Whitecross and Adriana Palamar, who will be on your panel later, will have some ideas on this to share.

Ownership and celebtration

Second, promote a sense of ownership through celebrating the achievement of milestones. The actual process of development or review of Action Plans can be used to promote a sense of ownership among staff and managers, and consequently a commitment to effective implementation.

Allocate responsibilities

Third allocate Action Plan implementation responsibilities to specific individual positions. Responsibility for implementation should be delegated to a position of some authority, such as a section manager, to ensure that it is viewed as a high level activity. Preferably responsibilities should be written into the job description or Performance Assessments of the delegated position rather than allocated generally to a Branch or section.

Prioritise

Fourth, allocate priorities and don't over commit. An Action Plan may include a large number of strategies and tasks to be performed. Some will be big ticket items involving considerable resource allocation over a period of time while others will be cost neutral. It is important that some system of prioritizing is included in the plan. It may sound obvious, but the commitments made in a plan have to be carefully budgeted for, and receive appropriate budget committee endorsement.

Measurable objectives

Fifth, develop objectives that can be measured in terms of real outcomes for people with a disability. One area I know many organisations have difficulty in is that of developing an evaluation strategy that does more than measure the number of tasks that have been completed. For example, while producing accessible information on the services a Department provides is important the successful production of that information says nothing about whether or not the service has become more accessible to people with a disability.

Far too often an evaluation strategy takes the form of ticking boxes to ensure tasks are completed rather than measuring whether or not all your tasks have resulted in better outcomes for people with a disability.

It is relatively easy to develop an evaluation strategy around whether or not the Departments website is accessible to blind people as a result of completing a number of tasks. It is much more difficult to develop an evaluation strategy around something more global such as “ Promoting inclusion and participation in the community of persons with a disability”.

When faced with this difficulty the best action plans I have seen have been those that break down rather global objectives into a series of outcomes that are within the sphere of influence of the Department and which can be measured. For example, an agency such as the Melbourne Water Corporation might not have many opportunities to influence public participation for people with a disability, but it may have a community consultative committee or council and could develop strategies to ensure that suitably qualified and experienced people with a disability participate in such committees.

Keep consulting

Finally make sure you recognise the importance of continuing consultation by building it into your Plan's strategies. For example, strategies to consult with people with disabilities when developing or amending policies and practices; strategies to include people with disabilities in the evaluation and review of your Plan and strategies to provide existing employees with disabilities opportunities to continue to contribute their ideas and experiences.

Where to?

It seems a little premature to talk about the future of action plans when most of you are yet to finalise your first, but generally I would like to finish by mentioning a number of areas where we would like to see Action Plans focus in the future.

Accessible procurement policies – organisations can drive the development of accessible procurement through their purchasing power. Any procurement contracts should include a requirement for built-in accessibility.

Employment strategies – the proposed Federal disability employment strategy may offer opportunities to develop innovative approaches to recruiting and retaining employees with a disability.

Contracts and events – most organisations issue contracts and provide approvals for things such as promotional campaigns. These contracts or approvals could ensure access features and the positive inclusion of people with a disability as a condition.

Leadership roles for staff and community members – look for ways in which people with a disability who are leaders or who can develop leadership skills can be recruited to positions on committees or advisory bodies that are not ‘disability' focused.

Conclusion

At the end of the day the development and implementation of an effective action plan relies on the ability of an organisation and its leadership to embrace the need to address barriers to participation and actively welcome the contribution people with a disability can make as colleagues, as customers and as partners in the development and delivery of services.

You play a vital role in facilitating change in your organisations and I would encourage you to share ideas and experiences over the next few months as you work towards completing your plans. If along the way you need a couple of strategic complaints to move the occasional intransigent manager along just give me a call.