Disability inclusion action planning

NSW Health aims to provide services in a non-discriminatory, equitable and efficient manner, which allows people with disability to function as fully participating citizens.

In 2014, the NSW Parliament passed the Disability Inclusion Actwhich sets out the need for the NSW Disability Inclusion Planand for each agency to have a Disability Inclusion Action Plan.

The NSW Disability Inclusion Plan sets out the goals for NSW to better support inclusion for people with disability, and to improve access to mainstream services and facilities.

There are four focus areas outlined in the NSW Disability Inclusion Plan that guide the commitments in the NSW Health Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2016-2019 to support the whole of government objectives for improved disability inclusion:

1. Promoting positive attitudes and behaviours – building disability confidence within the NSW health system, by improving awareness of the diversity of disability and what can be done to better support services users.
2. Creating liveable communities – providing equitable and dignified access for people with disability, their carers and families to health services, facilities and transport that are better integrated and welcoming.
3. Providing equitable systems and processes – ensuring that people with disability are able to access information regarding treatment and that our processes system-wide are designed to be person centred.
4. Supporting access to meaningful employment opportunities – improving not only the proportion of employees with disability, but also supporting the progression of these employees within NSW Health.

Under the Disability Inclusion Act 2014, NSW Health has obligations to provide an annual report which outlines the progress it has made to implement their strategies of disability inclusion. The NSW Health Disability Inclusion Action Plan: Snapshot 2017 provides a summary of the progress NSW Health organisations have made under each of the four focus areas.​​