Creating an accessible and inclusive Cockburn - Did we get our plan right?

Our plan gets the green light

The City of Cockburn has finalised its plan to create a more accessible and inclusive community. Council considered the Disability Access and Inclusion Plan at their June meeting and unanimously voted to support it.

About the plan

The City developed the plan following a robust community consultation process that captured the views of over 280 people of all abilities. Thank you to everyone who had their say.

The plan contains a range of initiatives, including:

• Ensuring that new buildings exceed minimum disability requirements where possible
• Documenting accessible features of Cockburn facilities on the City's website
• Providing disability awareness training to City employees
• Continuing to improve the accessibility of the City’s website
• Creating more employment opportunities for people with disability.

To read the plan, visit the City of Cockburn website.

More information

To learn more about accessibility in Cockburn, including events and programs, visit the City of Cockburn website or contact the City’s Family and Community Development Team on 08 9411 3444.

Thank you for your feedback

The City of Cockburn, with help from our Disability Reference Group, has been working on a plan for a more accessible and inclusive community.

Following consultation with over 280 people of all abilities in late 2022, we recently prepared and released our draft Disability Access and Inclusion Plan for a final round of feedback. The project page received 270 visits during the comment period between April and May 2023. Eight people submitted feedback and three people visited our pop-up at Success Library. Thank you for your input.

What our community said

• Most respondents (62.5%) are satisfied with the draft plan, compared to 28.5% who reported being neither satisfied or dissatisfied. One person (12.5%) did not specify their level of satisfaction.
• The draft received a positive reception overall and respondents expressed satisfaction with most aspects.
• One proposal in the plan that respondents particularly favoured was the inclusion of ‘employment opportunities’.
• While most respondents said they wouldn't change anything in the plan, four respondents suggested amendments. These include:
  • Services and facilities for people with loss of hearing,
  • Removing 'Disability' from the title of the Disability Access and Inclusion Officer role,
  • Acceptance of companion cards at City-run events, and
  • Further accessibility improvements within the built environment (e.g. adjusting height of buttons, addressing pavement irregularities etc.)

Next steps

Thank you for sharing your feedback on our draft plan to improve access and inclusion in Cockburn. The City has considered the community’s comments and is now finalising the plan with help from our Disability Reference Group.

The City will then present the final plan to Council for consideration and adoption. We will publish the approved plan on the City of Cockburn website when available.

For more information, please contact the City's Family and Community Development Team at 08 9411 3444 or [email protected].

Thank you for your feedback

Together with E-Qual Disability Consultants, the City has been working with people of all abilities across Cockburn to better understand our community's needs regarding accessibility and inclusivity. In late 2022, we held interviews, surveys, reference group meetings, morning teas and community forums to collect feedback. We heard from 281 people. Thank you to everyone who participated

What our community has said so far

• Most (69%) survey respondents agree or strongly agree that the City is welcoming and inclusive of people with disability.
• Access and inclusion to programs, services and events could be improved by:
  • Actively promoting inclusion through communications and actions e.g. advertising, events, training
  • More services, supports, and programs specifically targeting people with disability e.g. rebates, respite, activities, social groups, facilities
• Access and inclusion to buildings, facilities, outdoor environments and other public spaces could be improved by:
  • Embedding access considerations into policy and planning
  • More changing rooms for adults with disability
• The level and quality of services from staff could be improved by:
  • Leadership knowledge and commitment to access and inclusion
  • More training and support for staff e.g. on the impact of different disabilities and ways to assist including technology
• Access to employment opportunities in City of Cockburn workplaces for people with disability could be improved by:
  • Flexible and supportive employment e.g. customised roles, job carving
  • Supporting people with disability in their own businesses

Read the Feedback Summary in the Document Library to see all suggestions and key findings.

Next steps

The City is reviewing community feedback, which will help to inform our latest Disability and Access Inclusion Plan 2023.

To ensure we get it right, we'll share the draft when it's ready and undertake final consultation with our Disability Reference Group and key stakeholders. There will be a comment period to share final feedback in the first quarter of 2023. After the comment period, we will finalise and present the plan to Council for consideration and approval.