Absolutely everyone: state disability plan 2017–2020 made significant progress in working towards a vision of a fairer and more inclusive state. There are many achievements to be proud of and a lot of work that we can build on in this plan.
Achievements
Key achievements from the past five years include:
- releasing the Victorian autism plan
- launching the Amaze ‘Change your Reactions’ autism awareness campaign
- strengthening of the National Construction Code to include accessibility standards
- mandating the Liveable housing design guidelines silver standard as the minimum accessibility requirement in Victoria for new social housing constructed through the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build
- applying universal design principles to all new transport projects
- investing more than $20 million in school building improvements
- building 25 new Changing Places toilets
- upgrading major stadiums and creating sensory rooms at Marvel Stadium, Kardinia Park Stadium and Melbourne Park
- improving the accessibility of Victorian parks through accessible information, equipment and programs
- releasing Every opportunity: Victorian economic participation plan for people with disability 2018–2020 and the Victorian disability advocacy futures plan 2018–2020
- investing nearly $1.6 billion to support students with disability through a Disability Inclusion package
- establishing the Disability Family Violence Crisis Response Initiative.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted progress on parts of Absolutely everyone. However, the COVID-19 response delivered some significant improvements. We developed more accessible emergency communications. We established disability liaison officers to improve access to COVID-19 testing and vaccination and to other health services. We will continue to build on these initiatives in the current plan.
Definitions of key words used on this page
Accessibility: The extent to which people with disability can access something like an office, worksite or public area.
Changing Places: Public toilets with full-sized change tables and hoists in major public spaces that meet the needs of people with disability.
Data: Facts or information about a topic or group of people.
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability: Seeks to understand the experiences of people with disability and recommend important safeguards. The commission is due to conclude in September 2023.
Universal design: Making spaces, policies and programs that are inclusive, accessible and can be used independently by all people.
Vision: In this plan the vision represents what we hope will happen if the actions do what they are meant to do.
Improvements
Improvements in outcomes for people with disability during the life of Absolutely everyone include:
- The proportion of people in Victoria with disability reporting they had experienced discrimination due to disability decreased from 13.5% in 2015 to 9.3% in 2018.1
- The proportion of people in Victoria with disability employed in high skill jobs increased from 49.2% in 2016 to 54.4% in 2018.2
Despite these achievements, the Absolutely everyone outcomes framework data shows we have not made enough progress towards the vision of an inclusive Victoria.
People with disability in Victoria:
- Face difficulty accessing public transport. Only 65% of metropolitan bus stops and 56% of regional bus stops are wheelchair-accessible.3
- Have experienced worsening access to affordable housing. The percentage of people with disability who are in the lowest 40% of the income distribution whose housing costs exceed 30% of their household income increased from 11% in 2016 to 13.2% in 2018. (This is compared with an improvement for people without disability from 5.4 to 4.9%).4
- Are almost three times more likely to experience family violence.5
- Are more than twice as likely to experience sexual violence.6
- Are excluded from the workforce . Fewer than five out of 10 Victorians with disability are employed (49%) compared with nearly eight in 10 (77%) people without disability.7
- Are 15% less likely to feel like they have a say within the general community on important issues.8
This data highlights the ongoing impact of ableism and exclusion. Absolutely everyone made considerable progress in improving access and inclusion, but the evidence from the outcomes framework indicators shows that it has not been enough.
For this reason, this plan puts forward an ambitious set of reforms that all Victorian government departments have committed to.
References
[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018, Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: summary of findings, Australian Government, Canberra.
[2] Department of Health and Human Services 2019, Absolutely everyone: annual report 2018, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne.
[3] Department of Transport 2020, Accessible public transport in Victoria – action plan 2020–2024, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne.
[4] Department of Health and Human Services, Absolutely everyone: annual report 2018.
[5] Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability March 2021, Research Report on the Nature and extent of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation against people with disability in Australia, Australian Government, Canberra.
[6] Ibid
[7] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018, Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: summary of findings, Australian Government, Canberra.
[8] Department of Health and Human Services, Absolutely everyone: annual report 2018.
Updated