Diversity, Access and Inclusion - Proposed Policy Amendment

This consultation closed on 16 November 2023 and feedback has been reviewed.

A recommendation was presented to Council at their meeting on 12 December at which Council adopted the amended Diversity, Access and Inclusion Policy.

Background

The City of Vincent is seeking feedback on proposed amendments to our existing Diversity Access and Equity Policy.

In 2022, Vincent adopted an Access and Inclusion Plan 2022-2027 (AIP) with actions developed in consultation with people with disability, carers and the wider community.

Vincent's Diversity Access and Equity Policy provides guidance on how the City addresses barriers to participation and inclusion and is our commitment to ensuring services and activities include all members of the community.

A review of the current Diversity, Access and Equity Policy has shown it:

• No longer meets best practice.
• Needs to be updated so it aligns with our Access and Inclusion Plan.
• Refers to strategic documents that have been superseded since it was last updated in December 2021.

An amended, and re-named, Diversity Access and Inclusion Policy has been drafted and is available to view in the document library to the right of this page.

At its October meeting, Council endorsed the proposed amendments to the draft Policy for the purposes of community consultation.

Project details

The amended Diversity Access and Inclusion Policy aligns with the AIP and supports staff to deliver accessible and inclusive services to our community.

Those amendments include:

1. Change the name of the policy to Diversity Access and Inclusion.
2. Update references to other plans which have been superseded.
3. Remove our fax number as a contact method.
4. Adjust terminology in line with considered best practice, noting preferred terminology varies within communities.
5. Broaden the scope of physical accessibility to include environmental accessibility. This means we consider factors such as noise, light, temperature etc.
6. Recognise communication disability and, where practicable, support the use of communication aids (eg. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) boards) and provide documents in Easy Read format on request.
7. Update the principles - to reflect the needs of diverse communities and contemporary best practices.

The proposed changes can be seen in full by viewing the draft policy in the documents library to the right of this page.

Share your thoughts

This consultation closed 4.30pm Thursday, 16 November 2023.

What will happen next?

After this consultation period closes, we will summarise the feedback and update the policy as required. A report will then be presented to Council for consideration of any submissions and the adoption of any policy.

Everyone who provides feedback will be notified when the Policy is due to be considered by Council. Members of the public are welcome to attend the Council Briefing and Council Meeting to ask questions or comment on the proposal.

Information on this page is available in alternative formats on request.