19 February 2014

The Executive Officer Family and Community Development Committee Parliament House Spring Street EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002

Dear Sir/Madam

Inquiry into Social Inclusion and Victorians with a Disability

PO Box 21 Prahran Vic 3181 T: 03 8290 1333 F: 03 9521 2255 E: counc il@stonnington.vic.gov.au

www.stonnington.vic.gov.au

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission on this important inquiry, announced Friday 13 December 2013.

The City of Stonnington has an important role in facilitating the participation of people with a disability in community life through the provision of services and partnerships w ith other providers. We appreciate the opportunity to highlight key activities of Council and raise pertinent issues for people with a disability as they relate to this Inquiry.

Please find attached the City of Stonnington 's submiss ion to the Parliament of Victoria's Family and Community Development Committee. Council looks forward to hearing more on the outcomes of the Inquiry into Social Inclusion and Victorians w ith a Disability.

Yours sincerely

Karen Watson GENERAL MANAGER SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

INQUIRY INTO SOCIAL INCLUSION AND VICTORIANS WITH A DISABILITY

Submission City ofStonnington February 2014

Introduction This submission provides a response to the Terms of Reference proposed for the Victorian Government's Inquiry into Social Inclusion and Victorians with a Disability. In summary, the

key elements of the terms of reference that are discussed in this submission are:

• Provision of a definition of 'social inclusion' for Victorians with a disability;

• Identification of the nature and scale of relative inclusion (exclusion) and participation of Victorians with a disability in the economic, social and civil dimensions of society;

• Discussion of current initiatives and the impact of Victorian government services and initiatives aimed at improving inclusion and participation;

• Discussion of examples of good practice on inclusion and participation driven by local government and the community sector and the impact of the Disability Act 2006 on the social inclusion of people with a disability with respect to Victorian government services; and

• Recommendations of ways to increase social inclusion, including the roles of and collaboration between local, state and federal governments, the community sector, individuals with a disability and their carers.

The submission provides information to inform the Inquiry, and also proposes some opportunities for improvement.

Socia/ Inclusion for Victorians with a disability

Background

The City of Stonnington comprises the suburbs of Prahran, Windsor (part), South Yarra (part), Toorak, Armadale , Malvern, Malvern East, Kooyong and part of Glen Iris.

Stonnington has a culturally and economically diverse population. The housing stock ranges from some of Melbourne's finest mansions to large blocks of public housing. The City is primarily a residential area, with strong retail precincts.

According to the 2011 Census, Stonnington has fewer residents with disability than other municipalities. Three thousand and sixteen Stonnington residents (3.2%) have a profound disability requiring assistance with core activities (eg . personal care) compared to 4.5 % in Melbourne and 4.8% in Victoria .

There is a strong correlation between disability and age in Stonnington - 2,168 people with disability are aged over 65 years.

Since the Estimated Resident Population of Stonnington in 2012/2013 was 100,191 persons, approximately 18,567 (Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2013-2017; City of Stonnington) Stonnington residents are likely to have some degree of disability, based on Victorian disability levels.

A total of 18.4% of Stonnington residents are estimated to have a disability causing specific restrictions or limitations that affect their everyday lives (Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2013-2017; City of Stonnington; sourced from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, ABS 4430, 2009). These figures don't include visitors to Stonnington's retail precincts, nor attendees at services or programmes offered by Council or service providers.

Local agencies providing direct services include Better Hearing Australia, Inclusion Melbourne, John Pierce Centre, Mecwacare, Prahran Mission, Scope Victoria and Vision Australia .

Stonnington's involvement in supporting social inclusion for Victorians with a Disability

City of Stonnington recognises and respects that everyone has the same human rights entitlement to allow them to participate in, and contribute to society and our community. The Council Plan 2013-2017 complies with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 and embraces fundamental human rights under the four pillars of: community, environment, liveability and prosperity.

The key planning document to address social inclusion in Stonnington is Council's disability action plan, the 'Access and Inclusion Plan 2014-2017' (AlP). The Plan outlines 76 actions organised within the four pillars of the Council Plan.

The annual Metro Access Future Directions Report also outlines the actions that Council commits to each year.

Council employs a Disability Access Officer with the role of improving social inclusion through identifying community needs and ensuring that there is a coordinated response to disability issues. Responsibilities of the role include implementation of Council 's disability action plan , the Access and Inclusion Plan, chairing of the Council's disability advisory committee (DAC), the Access Stonnington Committee (ASC), provision of information on the subjects of legislative requirements , public policy developments, available resources and community expectations.

The Disability Access Officer has a dual role which includes delivery of the Victorian Government Metro Access program. Metro Access is a Department of Human Services funded program that places focus on community building and engagement.

The work of the Disability Access Officer is supported by the Access Stonnington Committee (ASC). Membership is made up of people with experience of disability, people with a background in disability access or individuals with a disability. The committee provides advice to assist Council to act on its commitment to the continual improvement of its premises, facilities and services, while also advising on Metro Access initiatives.

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Stonnington applies a whole of Council approach to its initiatives around social inclusion for

people with disability. Staff within Aged Services, Youth and Children's Services all include disability access within their roles. Specific practices that provide for social inclusion for

people with a disability include:

• Extensive assessment of Home and Community Care (HACC) recipients

• Information referral pathways to relevant services

• Accessible community transport

• Social Inclusion facilitators to support children with disabilities to access Council provided childcare

• A Special Needs playgroup.

Council's primary focus in relation to social inclusion is to share knowledge in order to promote a more accessible community, both internally and within the community. Some examples of projects that demonstrate this at community level are:

• Advocating to Chadstone Shopping Centre to increase accessibility.

• Funding has been sought for initiatives to improve social inclusion; examples include

improving physical access to a swimming pool and neighbourhood house.

• Council works in partnership with other key agencies within the disability sector. For example, a partnership with the Prahran Community Learning Centre (PCLC) and Yooralla identified adaptive equipment needs to facilitate participation by attendees.

• Working on social inclusion initiatives with local sport and recreation providers

including the Joint Council's Access for All Abilities program (JCAAA).

• Supporting existing sectoral networks to enhance a whole-of-sector approach to responding to State research that showed low take up of preventative health

screening by people with intellectual disability (10) . Stonnington worked with Bayside

Medicare Local (BML), the Cancer Council Victoria and another M~tro Access programme to plan and deliver workshops promoting take up of preventative cancer

screening for women with 10.

• The Disability Access Officer acts as an internal referral and support, and conduit with the community on access issues. This involves coordination of the implementation of the Access and Inclusion Plan and Community Building Plan, and participation in relevant projects and networks (such as the preparation and

implementation of the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan).

• Council's Social Support Program provide recreation and social opportunities for older people, including people with disabilities who are living in the community. This program services over 10,000 people per year.

• Council's Centre Based Meals program (funded via the HACC program) provides a

community based location for residents of Stonnington to enjoy a nutritious meal in a

social environment.

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• The Aged Services Adult Day Activity Support Service (a HACC funded service) delivers a range of social support programs for people with less independence and higher individual support needs.

Council also works directly with local individuals with disabilities by initiating contact as issues become identified.

Other mechanisms that contribute to social inclusion are:

• Training is offered to all staff on human rights legislation and a disability awareness presentation is made as part of the staff induction process.

• All communications are accessible and available in alternative formats upon request.

• Council is also working to increase use of access symbols in its publications.

• Council provides ongoing training in communication friendly practices.

• The availability of Auslan interpreting and hearing loops also contribute to inclusive environments in which Deaf and hearing impaired people can participate.

What is the difference between social inclusion and participation?

The Victorian Health Department defines a socially inclusive community as "one where all people feel valued, their differences are respected, and their basic needs are met so they can live in dignity. Social exclusion is the process of being shut out from the social, economic, political and cultural systems which contribute to the integration of a person into the community". (Cappo 2002)

Participation is when people with disabilities decide to take part in these economic, political and cultural systems. The distinction is important because it illustrates the two way process of social inclusion in which organisations not only need to ensure that communities are ready to integrate people with disabilities, but that people with disabilities feel sufficiently engaged enough to want that integration.

Nature and scale of relative inclusion (exclusion) and participation in the economic, social and civic life of the community.

Much of the exclusion experienced by people with disabilities is systemic. In helping to address these issues, Council is reliant on its ability to link local initiatives with broader state and national initiatives to continue to build a more socially inclusive community. To achieve this it is critical that social inclusion is supported by all tiers of government.

Last year Stonnington undertook a community consultation to inform development of its latest disability action plan. This resulted in a wealth of information becoming available at local level about the local experiences of relative inclusion of people with disabilities in the economic, social and civic life of the community. The engagement was planned around specifically gaining the participation of people with a disability.

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Hosting community based forums as part of a broader engagement plan resulted in a large amount of information and opinion being shared with Council by people with disabilities, the disability sector and the broader community. This information has subsequently been shared back with the sector to assist other organisations with their planning.

Much of the information elicited identified issues encountered by the large number of blind and vision impaired people who access Vision Australia services within the municipality, who stay to utilise Stonnington's retail sector and local recreational opportunities. There was also much_ feedback related to the built environment and the importance of infrastructure in making the Stonnington community accessible to people with disabilities as well as an emphasis on employment. These issues are discussed in Council's Access and Inclusion Plan which is attached to this submission.

Emerging issues The visibility of people with ~isability in the community is emerging as a key issue in acceptance of people with disabilities in mainstream community settings. More needs to be done to address this issue. The NDIS aims to make individuals with disabilities the "CEOs of their lives" and one can anticipate that a successful NDIS rollout could result in more people with disabilities being visible in the community and utilising infrastructure and transport in order to do it. All the following issues have the potential to improve the visibility of people with disabilities in the community:

• It is anticipated that an implication of the application of the NDIS could be increased pressure from to improve access at community level. For example, many people with limited mobility now use taxis rather than public transport because of factors such as a lack of accessible transport options.

• Consultation that engages people with disabilities in identifying the factors that lessen their social engagement is critical to identifying and planning for emerging issues at a local level.

• Planning documents such as disability action plans and the Metro Access Community Building Plan are becoming increasingly important as a mechanism for responding to increased societal expectations about inclusive communities.

• Accessible toilets and parking provision are increasingly important at community level as Council works to establish infrastructure and systems that support people to explore their local environments and as people with disabilities participate more in the ordinary rituals of community life: working, shopping, conducting business, socialising and exercising. In particular the need for accessible toilet access for those with high support needs, such as hoists or changing tables, is an emerging issue.

• The retail sector is increasingly aware of the need to make shops accessible to appeal to the broadest customer base. However many of these small businesses lack the funding capacity to upgrade premises to become accessible.

• There is a need for improvement in how people with disability are portrayed in the media.

• There is a need to provide more work opportunities for people with a disability as part of their broader integration and inclusion in society.

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Impacts of Victorian government services and initiatives to improve inclusion and participation. Council currently works collaboratively with all levels of government progressing the access agenda to improve social inclusion for people with disabilities . .This needs to continue to shift the agenda forward even more. Examples are:

• Attending an Employment forum with the Municipal Association of Victoria and the Office for Disability to consider the employment issue.

• Utilisation of government grants such as Accessible Communities funding and DHS respite funding.

• Information sharing with government departments such as DHS and the Department of Health.

Good practice in local government and the community sector. Local government continues to model good practice in its dealings with the community sector. Awareness campaigns about the benefits of accessible communities and the talents of people with disabilities as contributors to those communities would be highly beneficial in improving community attitudes towards inclusion for people with disabilities.

Impact of the Disability Act on social inclusion. One of the man impacts of the Disability Act at local level has been through the creation of Council's disability action plan committing Council to actions to reduce social exclusion over the three years of the plan.

Recommendations to improve social inclusion. • Continue to strengthen linkages and encourage cross-sectoral collaboration, and

thus opportunities for effective knowledge sharing, at all levels of government and with the community sector.

• Strengthen lines of communication and engagement between Council, the disability sector, and people with disabilities through resourcing of Disability Advisory Committees and other collaborative networks.

• Strengthen the accountability and reporting of disability action plans and other planning documents as a mechanism to foster access initiatives that support social inclusion for people with disabilities.

• Promote increased visibility of people with a disability in the community, using public awareness campaigns and the media in general.

• Support initiatives that increase employment of people with disabilities, including increased work experience opportunities.

• Ensure that people with a disability are engaged in the planning of initiatives that involve them, to ensure appropriateness.

• Encourage the private sector to improve accessibility and social inclusion for people with a disability, through physical enhancements, as well as service provision and employment and training opportunities.

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• Utilise reporting requirements for the Metro Access network to monitor participation levels at local level.

• Conduct research to better understand the demographics of people with a disability in the community, to enable the tailored targeting of services, and develop tools to measure access improvements and conduct evaluations.

• Increase the use of access symbols on publications.

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